Bear Witness III: Ever Closer
by Mag Carter
Summary: (Chapter 11 and 12 Revised!) Lucretia and her brother are older now and they've come to New York. There's tension between mutants and humans and between her family and the X-men. No one ever said being a mutant was easy.
1. Not an Angel

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine!!!

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Blink. Fuzzy edges. Blink again. Still fuzzy. Voices from outside. Muffled. Hushed. Throat sore. Mouth dry. Try to sit up. Bad idea. The covers are soft. It's warm. How nice.

"Ms. Rogue!" the old Creole woman cried, "Dat chile don' need t' be travelin'. She still weak. You take her wit' you, she could relapse. She could even die! I beg you, Ms. Rogue, don' be takin' her wit' you. Let her stay a few more days, please!"

"You know just as well as Ah do, Miram, that it's not up t' me. If her Pappa wants her t' go, she's goin', end o' story. Now be quiet or you'll wake her."

Miram let out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry Ms. Rogue, I know you don' have a say in anyt'in' dese chil'ren do any more dan I do, but even Remy gotta see dat dis not be good f' her."

Rogue gave a small smile, "He does, Miram, he really does. That's why he does it."

She snorted, "Tryin' t' toughen 'em up my britches! He jus' don' wanna admit he's wrong!"

"Shh, yoah gonna wake her up!" she hissed, "Now wrong or not, he's doin' what he thinks is best for 'em, an' as long as that's the case, Ah'm gonna support it. Now hush up, Ah can hear him comin'."

"How is she?" he asked from the door.

"She be fine f' now," Miram answered darkly, "but I have t' insist dat you not take her wit' you!"

Remy shook his head, "She comes wit' us."

"Remy," Rogue pleaded, "she really is in a bad state, this last one really knocked the wind outta her. She's really not fit t' travel."

"She'll be well enough if I ask her to."

"Remy, you really gotta stop that. That girl will follow you t' tha ends o' tha Earth if you ask her!"

"Don' you t'ink I know dat, chere? Don' you t'ink I know dat she'd take her own life if I asked? Don' you know how much dat scares me?"

Rogue wrapped her arms around her husband, tears in her eyes, "Ah know Remy, Ah know. It just ain't raht. Ah nevah woulda listened to mah daddy like that."

Remy lifted her head to look in her eyes, "Yo' pappa was also crazy, chere, no one woulda listened t' him."

Rogue laughed a little. He had a point, her daddy had been a few fries short of a happy meal. She was amazed that she didn't turn out the same way, especially after everything her granddaddy had done. She shook her head. Remy had his mind set, Lucretia was going to New York with them whether she liked it or not. And she really didn't like it.

"Chere," Remy started, "I know you don' like it, but you know she be de only one dat can do de job, non? She be fine."

"Damn straight!" a weak voice came from the next room. "When do we leave?" Lucretia asked. She was standing in the doorway, holding herself up with the frame.

"Cretia, honey, why don't you go lay back down for a little while. We've still got time befoah we leave."

"I can handle m'self mamman."

"Ah know you can, sweetie, but you don't wanna run outta strength raht when you need it, do you?"

Lucretia looked to her father who nodded. She nodded, showing that she understood and turned around to get back into bed. Rogue turned around and punched a hole in the nearest wall. She felt Remy's hands on her shoulders.

"I know chere, I'll try and talk t' her again."

Rogue gave out a deep sigh of frustration, "It just hurts that you gotta tell our daughter t' mind me, that's all."

"I know, I know, she'll get it t'rough dat tick skull o' hers one day."

"Ah hope so."

"Kurt, would ya stop pacin'? Yer makin' me nervous!"

"I am sorry Mein Freund, it is just that I have not seen them in quite some time."

"I know, me neither, Elf. Are y' sure you don't want to go meet them at the airport?"

"Nein, they said they had things to do before they came here and they would come here when they were through."

"Then they'll be here when they'll be here, now stop pacin'!"

Kurt laughed slightly. Logan had a point, no good would come of pacing. He would just have to sit and wait like the rest of the mansion. Tensions were high. It was the first time that the Lebeaus had stayed at the mansion since their exodus fifteen years ago. True, he had gone to see them at their New Orleans home as had many others, but this was much different. They would actually be in the house again. Add to that that he hadn't seen his niece and nephew in nearly two years because of their schooling and he was a nervous wreck. He sat down and Logan offered him a beer. He started to pull on the tab, but dropped it when he heard the door bell ring. Instead of running, he teleported straight to the door, cutting off Scott and Jean who were walking through the foyer. He opened it as wide as he could and smiled. 

Both Gambit and Rogue waved their hands in front of their faces to wave away the stench of the sulfer and brimstone caused by Nightcrawler's 'port. "Geez," Rogue teased, "Ah'd think you'd be happy t' see us Kurt!"

Kurt laughed and gave his sister a huge hug, immediately following with the traditional 'I'm not gay' man hug for Remy.

"It is wonderful to see you again Rogue."

"An' you, Kurt," she smiled.

Kurt noticed that she had a twinge of the New Orleans Brooklyn mix in her voice. He liked it. "Come in, please," he said, suddenly remembering his manners. Then, he realized someone was missing, two someone's in fact.

"Where are Lucretia and Nicholas?"

"Dey're runnin' an errand fo' me. Dey'll be here soon," Remy responded as he pulled his suitcase into the mansion.

"I've got it," Jean replied, lifting the luggage easily from the porch and floating it upstairs. "You'll be in your old room in the teachers wing and Lucretia and Nicholas will be in the student dorms."

"Ah'd like Lucretia moved to a room closer t' us if that's ahraht," Rogue requested. "She just got ovah a bout o' the flu an' we'd feel bettah havin' her where we can keep an eye on her."

"So what kind of errand is it?" Scott asked suspiciously.

"Not'in' dey can' handle," Remy answered, narrowing his eyes. "Y' know you got quite a way o' makin' an homme feel right at home. Hadn' been but two minutes an' already I'm bein' criticized."

Logan had finally joined them, a crushed beer can in his hand. He walked over and gave Rogue a good squeeze and nodded to Gambit.

"They're not in any danger?" Jean asked returning.

"Lu's got a good head on her shoulder," Logan answered for them, "She'll be fine."

"T'anks, Logan."

"Anytime, Gumbo."

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!!" Lucretia cursed as she dodged another bullet. This was not going well at all. She looked at her brother, "You ready?"

He nodded, nursing a deep gash in his leg. They were holed up behind an overturned couch in their target's living room. His guards had heard a scream and now they were in the middle of shoot out. Neither of them had guns, but they did have their powers, and like it or not, they had to use them. At least no one had seen their faces and they were careful not to leave fingerprints anywhere. Still, it had been risky. Lucretia eyed the window behind them. It would have to work. Maybe their attackers would even think they had died from the fall. It was twelve stories up after all. She grabbed her little brother by the shoulder of his jacket and forced the window to crack by reversing the gravity on the panes, causing them to push each other away. It wasn't much, but it was enough. She leaped out of the window with her brother and then lessened the pull of gravity on their bodies so that they all but floated to the ground. Nicky was limping slightly, but it didn't slow him down much thanks to Lucretia's abilities. He clutched their prize closely to his body. They had gone through a lot of trouble to get it and they weren't about to lose it that easily. She spotted their bike and climbed on, pulling Nicky on behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and held on for dear life. Lucretia was not one to drive carefully.

Scott, Kurt, Remy, Rogue, Logan, Jean, and Ororo were sitting quietly in the rec room, waiting for the two younger Lebeaus to return from their 'errand.' When Rogue and Remy had arrived, the sun was already starting to set, now it was pitch black outside and a storm was brewing. Remy seemed to be the only calm one.

"What kind of 'errand' did you send them on?" Scott asked.

"I asked dem t' pick sumt'in' up fo' me. I guess it was a bit harder t' find den I had t'ought."

****

Wer zu Lebzeit gut auf Erden

Wird nach dem Tod ein Engel werden

Den Blick gen Himmel fragst Du dann

Warum man sie nicht sehen kann

Lucretia looked in the rear view mirror and noticed a couple of suspicious looking cars behind them, "Damn! Dey followin' us!"

Nicky turned to look, "Shit."

"You watch yo' mouth boy," she grinned.

Nicky laughed, "I got 'em."

"Non, we bot' got 'em," she lifted a gloveless hand to her brother, still keeping balance on the bike. He gripped her hand and felt the surge between them. It was time to cause some pain.

****

Erst wenn die Wolken shlafen gehen

Kann man uns am Himmel sehen

Wir haben Anst und sind allein

A bullet shot past them. Nicky couldn't help but grin. That borrowed from strength from Lucretia really hit the spot. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a hand full of ball bearings and charged them. He reached an arm around his sister's waist, placing his hand against her bare skin, using her powers to guide them through the late night New York traffic. Lucretia weaved in and out, making it hard for their pursuers to catch them, but not making it hard for Nicky to take them out.

****

Gottdamm weiß ich will kein Engel sein

He flicked one metal sphere after another, aiming for tires, windshields, anything to slow them or stop them. He couldn't help but enjoy it. He could feel his sister's adrenaline rush, her joy at the chase. Their mother always worried about them, but they really enjoyed it. Oh, they knew they weren't indestructible. Lucretia knew it better than anyone, but that was what added the thrill. The thought that they could screw up and get hurt. It kept them on their toes.

****

Sie leben hinterm Sonnenschein

Getrennt von uns unendlich weit

Sie müssen sich an Sterne krallen

Damit sie nicht von Himmel fallen

Lucretia focused on the road ahead of her, she could feel her brother's elation and shared it. She glanced briefly at the mirror to see that their shadows had vanished. She smiled. She looked back onto the road. A road block. A couple of the geniuses had apparently decided to meet them half way. She smiled. It was her turn now.

****

Erst wenn die Wolken shlafen gehen

Kann man uns am Himmel sehen

Wir haben Anst und sind allein

She skidded to a halt in front of the vehicle and blew a kiss to the driver. She then revved the engine and screeched down an adjacent street. She didn't really need to use her powers for this, she was an excellent driver. She had also seen to many action movies with crazy-ass stunts like the one she had just done. She glanced in the mirror again. Good she had lost them. She could hear the storm clouds gathering above her, hear the cracks of thunder in the distance. She also felt the warmth of her brother's blood flowing from his leg. She had to get him to the mansion fast. It started to rain. She cursed to herself silently. This was really not going well at all.

****

Gottdamm weiß ich will kein Engel sein

****

Remy looked at his watch. They were late, they must have run into some trouble. Secretly, he worried about his children's welfare, but he would never let on. His wife knew that he worried, but she would never tell.

Rogue tried to make conversation, "So how're tha twins?" she asked Jean and Scott.

"They're fine," Jean answered, noting that Scott was too busy sizing up Gambit, "they're proving to be really outstanding telepaths." She brushed a strand of red and gray hair from her face. "They'll be through with their high school education soon and then they'll go on to NYU."

Rogue raised an eyebrow, "They accepted 'em?"

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't they be accepted to a university?"

"Well yes, but in tha U.S.?"

"I really don't understand what you mean, Rogue."

Gambit put a reassuring hand on his wife's arm, "Jus' drop it, chere. Dis be gettin' us no where."

Rogue let out a heavy sigh and turned and smiled at her husband. He had a way of stopping things before they got started.

"Is anyone hungry?" Kurt asked.

"Sounds like a plan, Elf," Logan said. He got up and moved to the kitchen.

"Is there anything that Lucretia and Nicholas like in particular?"

"They're teen-agers, Kurt, they'll eat anythin'," Rogue laughed.

Kurt smiled and followed Logan to the kitchen. The two could be heard taking out pots and pans and making the normal cooking noises.

Rogue turned back to Scott and Jean and smiled. It was an uncomfortable smile. Things had never been comfortable between them. Not since Lucretia had been kidnapped, and Rogue couldn't help but think that the Summers children had been spoiled by living with the X-men. She hated to admit it, but mutants with the X-men always got the best of everything. It just wasn't the place for her or her family anymore.

Professor Xavier entered the room. He was getting so old that he had been confined to a wheel chair again, but it didn't really seem to phase him.

"I am sorry I didn't not greet you earlier, but I was detained with a troublesome student."

"It's ahraht, Professor." Rogue stood and hugged him around the neck.

"It is good to have you back in the mansion, Rogue, Gambit," he said, nodding to each one.

"Ah'd like t' say the same, but circumstances bein' what they are…" she trailed off.

"What circumstances?" Scott asked.

"I will explain later," Xavier started to explain, but was interrupted by a loud bang and a crack of thunder. They all turned to the direction of the noise. Lucretia was standing in the foyer, Nicky leaning heavily on her for support, and they were both soaked from head to toe. Lightening flashed across the sky, illuminating their faces, giving them a frightful appearance. Almost as that of two demons come straight from hell.

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And here it is, the new story! I promise this one will be longer than the last one. I swear. I'm going to change the rating to 'R' next time for later chapters. Let's just say that the Lebeau children are not sweet little angels. The song is "Engel" by Rammstein and translates roughly to: "Whoever leads a good life on Earth will become an angel when they die. They look towards heaven and ask themselves why one can't see it. When the people go to sleep, one can see into heaven. We are scared and alone. Goddamn I know I don't want to be an Angel. They live behind the sunshine, separated infinitely far from us. They must claw through the stars so that they don't fall from heaven." I think that's it. If there are any mistakes in my translation, let me know. Now go review, or I won't post again!


	2. Explanations and Questions

Harry: Are you kidding? We're gonna be partying all weekend to celebrate the release! Starts Thursday and ends when I say it does!

Neurotic Temptress, Lucky439 and T.: All will be explained in time. I swear there's a good reason why she won't listen to Rogue.

Cris-X: I'm actually not too upset that they killed Psylocke. But I am about Colossus, major blow there, but if they kill Scott, I'll love 'em forever!

A/N: '~' indicates a flashback for the un-initiated.

Disclaimer: *ahem* Marvel.

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Storm had been looking directly at Rogue when suddenly, she wasn't there. She looked about her, momentarily flustered and finally found her standing next to her children. She was helping Lucretia and Nicky into the rec room. Blood was dripping from Nicky's leg. No, more like flowing. They set him down on one of the couches.

"I'll get Hank," she said, standing.

Lucretia looked at her for the first time, "Is Logan here?"

"Yes, but…"

"Dere's no need den. Mrs. Summers, if you would," she nodded to Jean and tore a strip of cloth from her shirt, using it to soak up some of the blood from her brother's leg. Almost instantly, Logan was in the rec room and kneeling beside Nicky. He grabbed the boy's hand.

"Come on, kid. Yer not gonna let a little scrape like this to ya, are ya?"

Nicky laughed, "No way, old man." As he spoke, the blood started to dry up and the wound closed. He sat up and smiled at Logan. "T'anks."

"No problem. Now that th' crisis is averted, I'm gonna get back t' dinner," he left the rec room and went back to the kitchen. His voice could still be heard when he yelled, "Hey, Elf, go see yer relations. They're waitin'!"

Kurt ported into the rec room and immediately grabbed his niece and nephew, wrapping them in a huge hug. "What happened? We were worried."

"Oui, what did happen?" Remy questioned from his spot on the couch opposite them, "You weren't supposed t' interfere, Lucretia."

She bolted upright, hands clasped firmly behind her back, "Yessir, I know, but…"

Nicky leaped up beside her to come to her defense, "Dey were expectin' us. Dey knew we were comin'."

Remy raised an eyebrow, "Dat means…"

"Yessir," Lucretia spoke again, "dere's a traitor in de guilds. I'll deal wit' it myself if you would like."

"We'll deal wit' dat later, now tell me what happened."

"We went it like you told us," Nicky explained, "an' he was waitin' fo' us. He swallowed de stone right in front o' us, darin' us to come an' get it."

"You did get it?"

"Yessir, Nicky charged his stomach and de stone ejected from his body."

Storm's eyes widened in surprise at the children's brutality.

"So what went wrong?"

"He screamed, Pappa, alerting de security guards in de building."

"An' the cut?"

"He had just enough time t' pull a knife on us, but fell as he charged, catchin' Nicky in de leg."

The rest of the room was stunned. They couldn't believe they were hearing this. Rogue was surprised that Gambit let them give their explanations in front of them and then she remembered the nature of the assignment and understood. He would want them to realize why they did it.

"So you see, sir," Nicky said, defending his sister, "she had t' get involved or it woulda been de bot' o' us."

Remy stood, a stern look on his face, "May I have it?"

Nicky reached in his trench coat and produced a small gray bundle. Remy unwrapped it and revealed a large blood red stone, wet with blood and other bodily fluids.

"Gambit, is that what I think it is?" Storm asked incredulously. 

"Oui," he answered, "dis be de lil stone dat gave us so much trouble in Madripoor all dose years ago. I still got scars from dat," he placed the stone in a jacket pocket and smiled. He placed a hand against Lucretia's face, "You did good, petite. Real good." He dropped his hand from her face and put a hand on Nicky's shoulder, "Now you be a real t'ief, an' I never doubted you."

The two teen-agers beamed with pride. They had done well. Lucretia would like to say that the initiation had gone off without a hitch, but the damn fool had swallowed the stone. Things would have been much better if he hadn't.

"Now go upstairs an' clean up fo' dinner. Oh, an' Lucretia, try an' look presentable, oui?"

"Oui, Pappa," and she turned to her brother, "Race ya!" and she bolted.

"Oh not fair! You can make yo'self lighter!"

"Oh yeah! You can fly y' silly twit!"

"Y' never said dat was in de rules!"

"I just did halfwit!"

Rogue and Remy looked at each other and smiled. It was good to know they could still act like teen-agers.

Kurt and Logan had surprisingly outdone themselves. Because of the special occasion, Logan had made an absolutely astounding Japanese dinner. The mansion was filled with the smell of sesame seed oil. Thankfully, those students who still remained during the summer holidays had already eaten and their meal went un-interrupted. The large dining room table was full of conversation. Bishop, Storm, Scott, Jean, Rogue, Remy, and the Professor were all seated comfortably around it while Kurt and Logan set the dished along its length. With the table finally set, and nearly everyone seated, they waited patiently for the children, including the Summers twins. Rachel and Christopher Summers entered quietly and took their places beside their parents. Rogue and Remy sat silently, relaxed with their thoughts. Finally, Lucretia and Nicholas made their appearance.

Lucretia had honored her father's request and was wearing a knee length black skirt with a black tank top underneath a dark blue button up t-shirt. Her nearly floor length black hair was pulled back loosely. She was wearing combat boots to offset the ensemble. Nicky wore a pair of black slacks with dress shoes and an emerald green button up shirt. His hair was pulled back tightly. If one didn't know any better, they would say the Lebeau children were twins, but Lucretia, almost eighteen, was a little less than three years older than her brother. They smiled at everyone and took their places at the table. At Lucretia's request, Kurt gave a brief prayer before their meal.

The conversation had died down at this point, but gradually began to pick back up. Lucretia was the first to speak.

"Logan-sama," she beamed, "dis is really wonderful."

"Thanks, darlin', it's an old recipe."

"I don' s'pose I could wrestle it from ya?"

"Not a chance half-pint."

She giggled.

Ororo Monroe stared in complete awe at the two adolescents. How could people this sweet be killers? She couldn't fathom it. The thought made her shiver.

Kurt Wagner on the other hand was really amazed at how mature they looked, how Lucretia had bloomed into a beautiful young woman and Nicholas was quickly becoming a handsome young man. Logan was right to call them heartbreakers. He really was proud of his foster sister, she had done well for herself.

"So, I heard you just graduated from Cambridge University," Rachel Summers said to Lucretia, trying to make small talk.

"Oui," she responded simply. She turned her attention to a piece of tempura battered broccoli.

"So, how was it living over there?" Rachel continued, still trying to get something out of the older girl.

"Lonely," she had given up on the broccoli and was now pushing around a piece of shrimp with her chopsticks.

"Why?"

"Cuz you go t' school all year round, an' you hardly ever get t' talk t' anybody cuz yo' so busy wit' yo' studies."

"But did you have a roommate or anything over there?"

"Pappa, Mamman," Nicky interjected, trying to change the subject, "Lu an' I wanted t' go out tonight…"

"With who an' where?" Rogue asked.

"T' Loona's," Lucretia answered, "Frankie invited us."

"Frankie?" Remy questioned, "Yo' still involved wit' dat boy?"

She shook her head, "Non, Pappa, never was. I was just leadin' him on. His parents are wit' dose Pure Humanity people."

Rogue dropped her silverware while Gambit slowly set his down on the plate, "You are not goin' t' Loona's t'night, petite."

"But, Pappa, ain' no harm in it. 'Sides, he's good info'mation. He'll tell me anyt'in' I want t'…" she trailed off. Both Gambit and Rogue were staring at her sternly.

"How about y'all go somewhere else tonight? Hmm, sweetie?" Rogue suggested. Both Nicky and Lucretia could hear the underlying comment: Befoah yoah Pappa blow a fuse. They both nodded. Neither of them wanted to deal with their father when he was angry. He switched completely from dad mode to guild patriarch mode and that was never, ever nice. It was one of the rare times they listened to their mother, but with good reason.

Now that he had calmed some, Remy spoke again, "Why don' you take Rachel and Chris wit' you?" he suggested nodding to the twins. Jean nodded approvingly. It would be good for those two to get out. Scott frowned, but she nudged him in the ribs and he reluctantly agreed.

Lucretia's head snapped up, "Mais, dey too young, Pappa!"

"You were gonna take Nicky wit' you and he's younger dan dem,"

"Yeah, but everybody knows him where we go!"

"All de same, it'll be good fo' you t' get used t' bein' around dem."

"What do you mean?"

"Yo' Mamma an' I have decided it be best fo' you t' stay here an' train wit' Xavier until you can control yo' powers better."

Lucretia stood, knocking her chair back, "What!!" She was completely shocked. "I t'ought you said I could stay in Nawlins wit you! I don' wanna stay wit' a bunch o' headcases an' nancy boy X-men!"

"I beg your pardon," Storm interrupted.

"You people t'ink you got it so good cuz you holed up in dis big ol' mansion away from all de mutant hunters an' de hate groups! You got it easy. Everybody like you cuz old man Xavier helped pass dat stupid registration act!"

"Cretia, petite, calm down…" Remy pleaded.

"Non! I will not! Dis ain' right!"

Bishop and Kurt suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Jean rubbed her temples from all the stress at the table. Logan sat calmly and stared at the scene, as if memorizing every moment. Nicky had moved away from his sister and the table. The Summers twins could only stare on in amazement while Rogue held on to her husband's shoulders, trying to calm him.

Suddenly, in a blaze of fury, Lucretia spun on her heel and stormed out of the dining room. Remy brushed Rogue's hands off his shoulders and walked after her. For a few moments, they could hear muffled voices in the hallway. Then, right out of the blue, they could hear a resounding crack echo through the hall. The door creaked open and Lucretia sulked back in. Remy stood there in the doorway, motionless. Lucretia approached the table, hands folded in front of her. She lifted her face, there was a large angry red spot on her left cheek.

"I apologize fo' my behavior. It was unfittin' an' rude."

The occupants of the table merely stared in shock, all except Rogue, Nicky, Kurt and Logan. Rogue nodded her head, "Fo'given, Lucretia."

"May I be excused?"

"O' course." She turned and left.

"He only does that rarely," Kurt explained, "Lucretia can get quite hysterical. I had to do it myself once, not something I would like to repeat, but sometimes, she needs it." Both Nicky and Rogue nodded in agreement. Logan merely grunted. The others, however, found it hard to go back to their meal. Especially after being called nancy boys by an adolescent mutant who had willing admitted to thievery and had probably committed murder at one point or another. It was somewhat surreal and unnerving. Eventually, everyone filtered out of the dining room and on to other activities. 

~~~~~~~

A knock came to the door. Remy answered it slowly, allowing whoever it was on the other side to get slightly nervous. A small balding man stood on the other side. He wore a gray suit and carried a black suitcase. Remy's first impression was a salesman, until he spoke.

"Good day to you, sir. I'm looking for the parents of…Lu…cre…t…i…a and Nicholas Leb…ue?"

He all but slaughtered their names.

"I'm Monsieur Lebeau," he said, emphasizing the name, "what do you want wit' Lucretia an' Nicholas. Are dey in trouble?"

The man was slightly flustered at being corrected but straightened out quickly, "No sir, I assure you, they are not, but you may be."

"How so?"

"May I come in?"

"Non. Explain." Remy really didn't like him. It was obvious he wasn't from around here and really didn't like being this close to him.

"Well, Mr., uh, Lebeau," he said it correctly that time, he learned fast, "I am with the Department of Mutant affairs and it appears that your children are not registered."

"Dat a problem, homme?"

"I'm afraid so, yes. You see, it is required, by law that all mutant children born after…"

"I know de law, but dey not hurtin' no one. Don' see why dey need to. Dey not even in a public school."

"Yes, well, that's another problem."

Remy raised an eyebrow at the man, he could feel that the little fellow was getting more and more nervous by the minute. That was good.

"Are you sure I can't come in?" When Remy didn't answer, he continued. "Well, you see, sir," he nearly stammered, not wanting to say the name again, "under the mutant registration act, children born after June 1st 2000 are to be registered with the department and enrolled in a public school so that their safety and education can be carefully monitored."

"So you can make sure dey don' become dangerous mutants bent on world domination?"

"Please, sir, this is very serious. If you choose not to comply within the next thirty days, you and your wife will be charged with neglect, your children will be taken away from you, and you will be incarcerated for a period of no less than five years."

"An' de ot'er option?"

"Register them as soon as possible, enroll them in a public school, and pay a small fee of two thousand dollars per child."

"Is dat all?"

"You can have them registered," the man was shaking, "at the local mutant shelter."

"Anyt'in' else?"

"No sir, that will be all. Good day." He turned around and practically ran off the porch.

"Good day," he slammed the door.

"Pappa," Lucretia tugged on his jacket. She was eight now, and getting more adorable by the day, but also more deadly. "Who was dat?"

"A very mean man."

"Wan' me t' kill him?"

"Non, better he live in fear."

"Okay," she paused for several minutes, "Mamman, an' Nicky, an' I made lemonade!"

"Sounds wonderful, petite."

Rogue cried when he told her.

~~~~~~~

Despite her outburst, Lucretia was still allowed to go out that night. She and Nicky had decided on a club in the city called Hell. They were familiar with the owner. She was a mutant and the club was mainly for mutants. They had never been there before, but they had known the owner for a few years via their parents. Apparently, she was an old friend of the X-men and still communicated with the regularly. Even though she was friends with the people Lucretia despised most among the mutant community, she liked her. She was strong and forceful. She had even done a couple of jobs for her, and she was currently working on another one so it would be mixing a bit of business with, hopefully, a lot of pleasure.

She had ditched her preppy school girl look for something a bit edgier. She wore a black leather, spaghetti strapped corset with a matching leather mini-skirt. She had thigh high nylon boots on over a pair of fish-net stockings. Her well-manicured nails were painted a deep red. Her lipstick matched them perfectly. She tied a gossamer web wrap around her waist to finish the outfit. Nicky on the other hand, wore a fish-net shirt with black vinyl pants, and there was a hint of black around his eyes. Once again, they looked like twins. They waited at the bottom of the staircase for the real twins and nearly gagged when they saw them. 

Rachel wore a pale green sundress to match her gorgeous green eyes while Christopher wore a polo and dress pants. This was not the type of attire one wore to a metal club. Lucretia grabbed them both by the arms and dragged them upstairs.

"Nicky," she yelled down, "mind if Chris here borrow some o' yo' clothes?"

"Not really an option is it?"

"No!"

A few minutes later, she brought them back downstairs in simple black clothes, nothing as elegant or attention-getting as Lucretia or Nicky's, but it was better than what they were wearing before. They looked extremely uncomfortable.

"I don't think we should go…" Rachel whispered.

"Gawd! Poppa's right, ya'll really do need t' get out more. Come on, just keep yo mouth's shut and you won' get roughed up too bad." She winked at them.

They drove one of the institute's cars to the club. It lacked the style Lucretia was used to, but it was practical. The pulled up outside of the establishment and a valet took their car for them. The line was huge.

"Wait here," Lucretia advised to them. Nicky smiled. His sister had a way with doormen.

She walked straight up the bouncer and handed him her ID, "I'm here t' see de lady o' de house."

"I'm sorry miss, you'll have to wait at the end of the line, like everyone else."

She put her face less than an inch away from his, "You like your job, non?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"I t'ink you do. Know I would. Lookin' at all dese lovely ladies night after night. Must be nice, oui?"

"Please don't make me have you escorted from the premises, ma'am."

"Look, I'm here on really important business wit' yo' boss. Talk t' her an' I'm sure dis will all work out."

The man sighed and motioned for his partner to take his spot.

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry to bother you like this, but there's a young lady out here who says she's here on business," he said over his radio.

"You have her card?" It was a sweet voice, but carried undertones of authority and power. It had a slight Eastern European accent to it. Most men found it highly attractive.

"Yes ma'am. She's a level four mutant. We can't allow them in, can we?"

Silence.

"Ma'am?"

"Put it into the reader." He obeyed. Several moments of silence followed. "Let her, and whoever she's with in."

"Ma'am?"

"I said let them in."

"Yes ma'am." He went back to the door. Lucretia was still waiting, an impatient look on her face. He handed her ID to her. "You and your friends can go up."

She motioned to Nicky and the others and muttered a soft "I told you so," before entering the club.

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Go! Review, now! I demand it! This is really the part of the story I've wanted to get to for a long time, as you can probably tell by the ungodly long chapters, so I really want to know what you think.


	3. Mutant's Night Out

First of all, I would like to say that I just saw X2 and OH MY GOD!!! If you haven't seen it yet, go now! Now I say!

Lucky439: I told you they were bad, but you just didn't listen did you? Nobody ever listens to me.

T.: One explanation coming up, to an extent that is.

Buckster: *curtsies* Thank you, thank you. I try very hard, you know. I hope this chapter does not disappoint.

Cris-X: *shakes her head* Sorry, can't. If I do that, I'm gonna have to bring back all sorts of other people that really have nothing to do with this story. Believe me, I have a couple that I'd love to bring back, but they simply don't have any relevance.

Disclaimer: It belongs to Marvel, so just leave me alone.

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"So, Lucretia," Rachel began, "how'd you get past that doorman? He's not going to call up his boss every time some says they know her. I mean, it's just not economical."

Lucretia turned and smiled at the young red head, "Oh, you do pick up quick." She leaned in, "A lil tug o' gravity in all de right spots does a world o' wonders, ma petite."

Rachel blushed, but continued, "So you can control gravity?"

She nodded, "Now remember, don' tell no one here you from de Institute, dey won' take it lightly. Dey t'ink you a bunch a spoiled brats. Jus' be cool, k?"

Rachel and Chris nodded nervously.

"Y' want anyt'in' t' drink?" she had a clove cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Neither of them had seen her pull it out.

"Are you old enough to be doing that?" Chris asked.

"Non, mais I be old enough t' decide how I wanna spend my life. Now what do y' want t' drink? Anyt'in' y' want."

"Just water."

Lucretia rolled her eyes and walked to the bar. She came back with two tall glasses of an amber liquid and two smaller glasses of water. She handed the water to the twins and one of the amber glasses to her brother. "Now kick back an' relax. Learn how t' live a lil."

All Rachel and Chris could do was stare at the Lebeau siblings as they downed two entire glasses of what they could only assume was beer, and they knew both of them were underage. This was turning out to be a bad idea.

Storm watched Rogue from a distance. She was reading, but Ororo could tell that her friend's mind was not on the book. It was elsewhere, drifting, quite possibly to the events of earlier that evening. She moved closer, but stayed just far enough back that she wouldn't crowd her.

"What troubles you, Rogue?"

"Hmm?" she lifted her head suddenly from her book, surprised. "Oh nothin'," she said when she realized that it was Storm who had joined her.

The windrider allowed her self a small smile. Rogue could be so evasive. She sat down opposite from the Mississippi belle. "I have known you for quite a while now, long enough to think that I know you pretty well, and I know that nothing means something."

"Yoah jus' bein' silly, Storm."

"Am I? You haven't turned a page in that book for the last fifteen minutes."

"Wha? Oh Ah, well that is…Ah was…" she let out a heavy sigh of defeat, "Ya caught me."

"What is troubling you? You know I am always willing to listen. Does it have something to do with the events of this evening?"

"Not really, well kinda, in a roundabout way Ah s'pose."

"I am listening."

She slumped her shoulders, "Lucretia an' Nicky, they're good kids, they really are, but…"

Storm raised an eyebrow.

"They listen more t' their Pappa than they do me."

Most people would think that Rogue's worries were just a mother's paranoia, but Storm knew better. She had seen them interact with her. "Why do you think they do that?" she asked, slightly intrigued.

Rogue sighed again, "Tha guild, they've turned mah children against me." She looked at Storm with tired eyes, "They've nevah really accepted me. Ah've always been an outsider t' them, an they tell tha children that much. An' they feed them all this loyalty talk about Gambit. Like they've evah been loyal t' him! Ah can remember him tellin' me stories o' all tha times they tried t' off him cuz they didn' like him bein' head o' tha guild. An' befoah that, they kicked him out. Ah mean, honestly, what do they think they're tryin' t' pull?"

Storm opened her mouth to speak, but never got the chance.

"An' don't tell me that they woulda been bettah off heah. They woulda been snatched up faster than you can blink an' branded like cattle. Y' know, they weren't even registered until Lucretia was eight? We avoided them foah that long."

"I wasn't going to say anything of the sort. I was going to ask if you had tried to reverse the damage?"

Rogue smiled a little and nodded solemnly, "It goes in one ear and raht out tha other."

"Maybe living here will help."

"Maybe."

Lucretia was dancing with the hundreth guy on the dance floor. At least that's what it felt like to Chris. He leaned over to Nicky.

"Your sister seems quite popular."

Nicky gave the Summers boy a calculating look, "You better watch what you say 'bout her, she is my sister."

"I meant no offense. It's just that she doesn't really care who she's dancing with, does she?"

Nicky shook his head, "If dey can dance, she'll take 'em."

"I see."

Lucretia had taken a break from dancing and walked back over to them. "You gonna dance t'night or what, Summers?" she asked to both of them.

"We don't really know how to do that kind of dancing."

"It's easy, jus' move de way de music makes y' bend. Dat's all dere is to it. Come on, I'll show y'." She started to drag them on the dance floor, but was stopped by a hand on her back. She turned to see its owner. It was a tall man in black, with gorgeous eyes and silky brown hair. He whispered something to her over the roar of the music which, to Chris and Rachel's amazement, she heard. She turned back to them. "Nicky, keep an eye on de wonder twins, dis fella jus' gave me an offer I can' refuse." She winked at them and followed her guide through the mass of dancers. Chris merely looked at Nicky who shrugged.

Lucretia followed the handsome looking young man through the mazes of the dance floor until they came to a stairwell. They followed the stairs to an office. He knocked on the door.

"Enter." It was that accented voice from earlier, a voice that Lucretia trusted.

The two entered a lavishly adorned office. There was no desk, but there was red and black velvet furniture everywhere. The walls were draped with heavy fabrics and exquisite paintings. A lone woman occupied the room. She was dressed in red from head to toe and had rich auburn hair. 

"You may leave, Joshua," she stated. It wasn't an order or a question, just a simple statement. He left quietly the way he came. The woman stood to greet her guest.

"Lucretia, it is so good to see you again."

"And you as well, Wanda."

"Life is treating you well?"

She scowled, "As well as can be expected, given the circumstances."

"Yes, I understand."

"How is your family?"

"Fine, and yours?"

"Complicated."

Wanda Maximoff laughed, "Yes I imagine they are."

"I have good news for you."

The mutant once known as the Scarlet Witch suddenly showed a look of deep interest.

"I found him."

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Well, that's this chapter. Lucretia and Nicky really are bad 'uns ain't they? You may notice that Lucretia lost her accent while speaking to Wanda. Well that's partially accident, but that's how I hear her in my head when she's doing 'business.' It just seems to fit that she would speak clearly and concisely when working out a deal with an employer. If you think you know what's going on, then you also know what's good for you and you'll keep your mouth shut. Now review!


	4. Strange World

Okay, only two people reviewed my story this time…I am not very happy with you people. If you don't review I don't know whether or not to continue this silly thing. Anyhoo, to those who did, brownie points!

T.: I don't know if I'll ever get to the explanation in the story so here it is. Mainly, the way I have his character portrayed is he had to choose between which was more important: making sure his kids were dutiful to both parents, or making sure the guild didn't try and kill them too. By allowing them to take sides, it showed that they were more with the guild and less of a threat. Does that make sense?

Cris-X: I'm really sorry about Betsy, but as I said, no place. And as for the twists and turns, you ain't seen nuthin' yet!

Disclaimer: At this point, is it even relevant?

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For some reason that Nicky could not fathom, the Summers children were perfectly content with watching the dance floor rather than participating in it. He supposed that they were scared of new surroundings. That was perfectly understandable, given the environment they grew up in. Sheltered, guarded, just how much of the mutant situation did their parents reveal to them? None of it? All of it? Or perhaps a middle ground. Whatever the case, they probably thought themselves above it. It made his stomach churn. Every mutant should know that they were getting a raw deal. But did they know? The possibilities made his head swim. He liked them alright, they were just a bit naïve, or at least, they gave that impression. He suddenly noticed that they weren't speaking to each other. His stomach jumped into his throat, someone should have explained to them…

Christopher Summers was laughing at a joke his sister had sent him via telepathy when he felt a hand fall heavily to his shoulder.

"What's your game kid?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What do you think your trying to prove?"

"I'm really sorry, but I don't understand what you mean."

"Playing coy, are you? You're going to get us thrown out and arrested."

"Please, if I've done something…"

Nicky stepped in, "Monsieur, dis all be a misunderstandin'. Dey don' know any better."

"Well then someone should have explained it to them!"

"Den I take de blame, please."

"They need to be taught the rules!"

"Have we done something wrong?" Rachel asked sheepishly.

"No powers in the clubs!" Nicky turned and hissed to her. The big oaf took the chance to back hand him, knocking him into a table full of card players.

"Hey man! Watch it!"

"My apologies, gentlemen. Won' happen again."

"Damn straight it won't!"

Nicky gulped, if it wasn't one thing, it was another.

"What do you mean, you 'found him'?" Wanda asked incredulously.

"I mean that I found him."

"Where? How?"

She started to speak again, but was stopped by a sudden jolt in her mind. She spun around to look out the office window.

"What's wrong?"

"You ever baby-sit when you were my age?" she asked, taking on her accent again.

Wanda shook her head, "I was busy trying to destroy all of humanity when I was your age, why?"

"Well, de tricky t'in' 'bout baby-sittin' is dat if y' got twins or siblin's real close age-wise, dey tend t' get in a lot o' trouble when y' leave 'em alone."

"Twins?"

"Pappa asked us t' bring de Summers kids wit' us t'night."

"And let me guess, you probably forgot to tell them not to mention the Institute or the ban on powers in the clubs?"

"Non, I told 'em about de Institute, jus' forgot 'bout de power t'in'."

"I see." She gathered her coat about her, "I suppose we had better clean this up." She moved to the door. Lucretia stopped her, shaking her head.

"No time fo' de long way."

The Scarlet Witch nodded, understanding and turned her attention to the window. With a wave of her hexing powers, the window shattered. Everything on the dance floor stopped except for two men facing each other, blood dripping from their faces. Madame Maximoff stepped in front of the window to insure she would be seen by all.

"Bring the mutants to me," she called over the crowd, "I will deal with their transgressions." The mutant facing Nicky scowled but turned back. Everyone in the club respected Wanda's authority. They may not have liked it, but it kept them from being turned into the mutant hunters. With another wave of her hexes, the broken window reversed itself and the glass formed back into its frame. 

Nicky, Chris, and Rachel were brought up to the office by the same handsome man. Wanda indicated that they should sit on one of her luxurious couches. Chris and Rachel looked somewhat scared, but Nicky had a look of shame on his face. Wanda sat across from them. She smiled at Nicky and turned her attention to the other two.

"You are Scott and Jean's children?"

They nodded.

She smiled again, "I have many fond memories of working with them. And it is because of my respect for them that I shall excuse you this evening, but from now on, when in a club such as this, please refrain from any use of your powers. It draws unwanted attention to our situation. Do I make myself clear?"

They nodded again.

"You may go." She stopped Lucretia as she was leaving, "We shall speak again, soon."

Lucretia nodded and left with the others.

Wanda Maximoff went back to the corner she had been brooding in when Lucretia had arrived, and mulled over the news she had been given. The one man who could turn the tide in the coming war predicted by Lucretia had been found. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry or even go hang herself right then and be done with it. Instead, she did the only logical thing possible, she called her brother. 

The other line picked up, "Pietro Maximoff speaking."

"It's started," she stated, and hung up.

Detective Boyd Francisco looked at the mess in the upper class pent house. The furniture was smashed, there were bullet holes everywhere, and one slightly cooked dead guy in the bedroom. The corpse used to be a crime boss with the mafia so he felt little pity for him. What disturbed him was how he died. The coroner took one look at the guy and said that he exploded from the inside out. He wiped his brow again. It was a nervous tick of his. The mutant 'investigator' would be here in a few minutes. He really hated dealing with those people, they were so lifeless. And their 'pets' weren't much better either. He didn't like it, but judging by the cause of death, they were the only people to deal with this case. He had thought about just dropping it. Who would miss just one more crime lord? But then, he couldn't go home to his family and tell them that a mutant murderer was on the loose. It was unethical and no one could know if they were focused on that one person or completely psychotic and taking out whoever they wanted. A voice sounded from behind him. He could have sworn his skin had just crawled of his bones. He turned to see a man with short red hair and a stark blue uniform. His eyes were cold and dead.

"Where was the murder?"

Francisco couldn't speak. He just pointed to the bedroom. The man nodded and walked in the direction indicated, pulling on a rope behind him. At the end of the rope was a thin woman, completely bald, wearing a red uniform identical to the man's. She crouched low to the floor and snarled as she was pulled along. The detective shook his head. Poor creature.

Mutant hunter 87 crouched down by the body and took a sniff, he could smell the burnt flesh. He jerked his mutant 'pet' beside him.

"Find it," he ordered her.

She lifted her hands hesitantly over the body, they shook slightly. She bit her lip.

"I get no mental signature, sir. They blocked their thoughts from me." She had relaxed slightly.

87 cursed to himself silently. These mutants were good, but he would find them. He scratched his back of his pet's head. No one escaped a mutant hunter. He didn't care how long it took him to find this animal, he would find it and kill it.

Scott and Jean Summers waited impatiently by the front door of the mansion. It had been hours since their children had left. They really didn't expect them to be gone this long. Scott looked at the clock again, 1:30. He growled silently. The Lebeau children could be so inconsiderate. 

Jean placed a hand on her husband's arm, trying to soothe him. They were both worried, but she knew that as reckless as Nicky and Lucretia were, they were loyal to their father. He had warned them to take care of the twins and that's what they would do. She perked up at the sound of an approaching automobile. Scott went rigid. They heard the car stop and doors slam shut. There were whispers. Jean tried to pick up their thoughts. She got a flash of someone with a swollen face and another face with concern in her eyes. The front door opened.

Lucretia was laughing loudly while her little brother scowled at her. Rachel and Chris merely had shocked expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" Scott demanded.

Rachel and Chris looked at each other in surprise, Lucretia stepped forward. 

"Nicky got in a fight defendin' his sister's honor," she lied, "if he had given me two mo' minutes, I woulda been able t' do it m'self." She broke into more laughter and Nicky scowled even harder.

Jean knew that wasn't the case. She scanned her children's minds to find out the real cause of the fight and smiled. Nicky had stood up for them at the club. Lucretia didn't want to worry her or Scott so she lied. She sent a silent 'thank you' to Lucretia's mind. At first the girl was shocked but then gave her a thin smile.

"Come on, Nick, le's get you cleaned up an' int' bed." The two Lebeau's left, leaving Chris and Rachel alone with their parents.

"Did you have fun?" Jean asked sweetly.

They shrugged, "It was alright, just don't make us go out with them again."

Scott laughed, "Alright, alright, but we thought it would be good for you to be around kids your own age that hadn't been in the institute."

"They're mean," Rachel pouted.

"So are a lot of people," Jean assured her, "you just need to learn how to cope with them."

Rachel sighed, "Fine."

"Maybe, next time, they can take you two some place more hospitable?" Scott suggested.

Chris nodded furiously, "Lucretia's too wild at those clubs."

He smiled, "I bet she is."

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Okay, this is gonna be the last chapter for awhile. I'm kind of in the middle of a move so most of my stuff is going to be inaccessible for a few days. As soon as I get settled in, I'll have more chapters up, promise. In the mean time, tell me what you think so far. And remember, if you think you know what's happening, you'll keep quiet.


	5. She's Not Quite Right

Cris-X: Don't be too displeased with the twins, they are a bit naive. But I can understand how you feel, you're supposed to.

  
  


Buckster: Thank you for your patience and thus you are duly rewarded.

  
  


Lucky439: Let the joy begin, for I am back, not completely moved, but in a resting stage.

  
  


T.: One can hope, yes?

  
  


Disclaimer: Marvel's not mine, never mine. Always Marvel's....

  
  


* * *

Screams punctured the night. Scott and Jean had just laid down to sleep, comfortable in the knowledge that their children were safe. The shrieks sounded almost human, and nearly animal. They were torturous and long, howling through the mansion like a soul driven from hell.   
  


Jean merely turned to her husband to utter one word, "Lucretia," and ran from the room in a flash.

  
  


Naturally, her cries had awoken other occupants in the mansion, but they were all blocked by one man. Jean dug through them to find Gambit at the door, a light sweat on his brow.

  
  


"Come on, Cajun, let us through!" Logan growled.

  
  


Gambit shook his head, "Sorry, mon ami, can' do dat."

  
  


"Why not!" Kurt screamed, "She could be hurt!"

  
  


"I assure you, she not. Her mot'er be in dere right now."

  
  


"If it is alright for, Rogue, then surely, it is alright for one of us?"

  
  


Gambit smirked, "Ain' no danger..." he began.

  
  


"Then why won't you let us check on her!" someone else yelled.

  
  


Jean suppressed a laugh, "She sleeps in the nude."

  
  


Everyone turned to look at her.

  
  


"I'm surprised you guys didn't already know," she said, indicating Logan and Kurt, "it should be common knowledge..."

  
  


"It be recent," Gambit added, "dat an' we usually don' let dem stay de night. So no offense, mes amis, jus' a lil defensive o' de petite." He winked at them and turned back to the door. He rapped gently, "she decent?"

  
  


"It's ahraht," Rogue's voice came through the door, "but only a few of 'em."

  
  


Gambit nodded as though his wife could see the action. He turned back around, "you two," he said, pointing to Kurt and Logan, "but dat be it fo' now."

  
  


They entered the room. It was completely dark, save for the light coming from the outside street lamps and through the windows. Two forms could be made out in the light. One of them turned her head. It was immediately evident that it was Rogue from how the light shimmered through her shock white streak. She seemed to be cradling something in her lap. It shook slightly.

  
  


"Don' move to suddenly," her voice was hushed and quiet. Logan had to strain to hear her. The form in her lap jerked at the sound. Logan looked closer. It was Lucretia. She was curled into a fetal position, clutching her knees and shaking violently. Her head rested in her mother's lap. She shook occasionally, but was soothed each time by a loving caress through her hair from her mother.

  
  


"Why did you not tell us?" Kurt breathed. Lucretia jerked again.

  
  


Gambit motioned for them to move outside. The two men obeyed. Outside the door, Remy whispered to the others, "downstairs."

  
  


They were very confused and began to protest, but a motion from Kurt stilled them. They moved silently down to the lobby.

  
  


"What's going on?" Scott demanded.

  
  


Remy sighed, "Lucretia, ma petite fleur sauvage, is not quite right."

  
  


"What do you mean?" Storm inquired.

  
  


He gave a deeper sigh, "She is not stable...she has dreams, non, nightmares, dat wake her screaming in de night like an animal. Only Rogue knows what de dreams are because it is only Rogue dat can calm her. De girl may not obey her, but she does love her. Dough, I t'ink I know what de dreams may be." His eyes darkened as he lowered his gaze to Xavier.

  
  


Charles held up his hands, "You agreed to the procedure, Remy, and you left before more could be done."

  
  


"I din' have a choice!"

  
  


"What procedure?" Kurt asked.

  
  


Beast spoke for the first time, "Lucretia would not eat or sleep after her ordeal with our dear friend, Mr. Sinister. The psychological damage was too great and she was too young to be helped by any conventional means at the time."

  
  


"So what means did ya use, Chuck?" Logan stared at his long time friend and associate.

  
  


"I repressed her memories of the event in the hopes that she would be out of immediate distress, however, the damage seems to be much worse."

  
  


Remy nodded.

  
  


"What is the next course of action?" Storm inquired.

  
  


"To slowly reintroduce her memories," Xavier stated.

  
  


"You will stay outta my mind!" a voice hissed.

  
  


Everyone turned to its source. Lucretia stood in the doorway of the lobby, a sheet wrapped loosely about her form. Her skin was almost olive tone and crisscrossed with tiny white lines of scar-tissue. Her hair trailed down her back, and her eyes shone wildly in the dim light.

  
  


Her image was almost terrifying in the night. Thunder from the storm crashed eerily in the distance. She stalked closer to the gathered mutants, right to Xavier's face. She squinted her eyes at him.

  
  


"I know what you done, Monsieur Professeur! I will not have you messin' in my mind any more! You mad de mess, now you deal wit' it!" The last sentenced was nearly howled. "I am here only because, ma mere et mon pere wish it! Dey t'ink you can help me, but I know dat you cannot. You will come to see dis in time." She smirked slightly at him and stood suddenly. She spun on her heel and stormed towards the door. As she neared it, she turned towards him a final time.

  
  


"Jus' so you don' get any ideas..." she grinned broadly. There was a moment of silence and then suddenly, the Professor reeled in his chair, holding his hands to his temples. They turned back to scold the young mutant, but she was gone, an empty sheet lay where she had been standing. Slowly, the turned back to Xavier.

  
  


"What happened, Professor?" Scott asked.

  
  


"She sent and image, to my mind," he stammered, "a man driven mad to the point of suicide. He was in a straight jacket and bound, yet still, he placed the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger with a bloodied foot."

  
  


The X-men dropped their jaws in a amazement.

  
  


"Why?" McCoy asked, incredulously.

  
  


"He read her mind."

  
  


* * *

There's a new chapter for you wonderful boys and girls. I do hope you enjoyed it. I know I did. If we had any doubt before, we now know for a fact that Lucretia is slightly off her rocker. Just a smidge. =) Now go and review, before I send angry Matrix agents after you! 


	6. The Memory Remains

T., Lucky439: Glad you're enjoying it. Please keep reviewing.

Cris-X: Don't feel manipulated, well, maybe a little. Maybe you'll like the twins a bit better in this one, non?

Neurotic Temptress: If you remember, Rogue was the first person that Lucretia was in contact with after she was freed from Sinister, so it kind of makes sense. This chapter also explains a bit more. As for Nicky, he's kind of used to this, so he pretty much just pulls his pillow over his head and sings real loud.

Disclaimer: I swear most honestly that I do not own the X-men, but I would if I could.

Lucretia awoke early the next morning, dressed and went downstairs to breakfast. Just as she reached the dining room, she heard angry voices. She waited right outside the doors to listen, but there was too much shouting. Even so, she knew what, no, who they were arguing about. She put on her best smile and threw the doors open dramatically. Every face in the room was frozen in surprise. She kept her smile, as if she were oblivious to what was happening. She skipped gleefully to her parents, kissed them both on the cheek and wished them a good morning. They relaxed noticeably while everyone else continued to show shock. She skipped further down the table and wrapped her arms around Kurt in a warm hug. He smiled at her weakly. Lucretia was not impressed. She grabbed his tail and brought it up to her mouth, pretending to bite it. Her uncle jerked it away quickly from her light grasp and glared at her. When he saw that it was all in good fun, he laughed. Her smile spread further, pleased at the outcome. She stopped along the table a final time to smack her brother lovingly upside the head and then sat in her chair. She piled her plate full of eggs, bacon and toast and smothered it all with Tabasco sauce.

She lifted her fork to her mouth, but stopped when she noticed that everyone was still staring at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly perturbed.

Many of them cleared their throats and pretended to do something else or that they had just remembered an appointment somewhere. Irritated, Lucretia went back to her meal. However, she could still feel the eyes of her parents on her. She knew that they were concerned, but she brushed it off. She glanced up slightly and noticed that Cyclops was also still staring at her while his children stared at their plates. She narrowed her eyes. They had told him something. What, she wondered? About the club? That she had bribed the guard? No, not that…Wanda! They told their parents about their run in with Wanda Maximoff. But why was he upset about that? No, it wasn't just that. What else was it? Her attack last night? Perhaps. She never was very clear about what she did during them. Her mother always told her that she had scared the living daylights out of her. She shook her head slightly and finished her meal. She got up to take her plate to the kitchen when her father stopped her.

"Petite," he began, "go change into somet'in' more presentable. We meetin' some friends at de airport later."

Lucretia looked down at her mid-drift tank top, super short shorts, and bare feet and nodded at him. When she was younger, she used to admire pictures of her mother from her X-men days. She looked like she hadn't a care in the world, so confident. Lucretia knew that when she was older, she wanted to be like that, careless, free, confident. It would be easy, right? It was, almost, except for her responsibility to the guild.

She nodded once to Gambit and went back to what she was doing, aware that every set of eyes in the room was on her. She sighed inwardly. Stupid and scared, that's what they were. She didn't know what she had done or said to them, but it had certainly gotten their panties in a bunch. She hoped it had been worthwhile. Even so, they had probably disserved it. She would get the memories from someone later. She had to change now.

Cyclops was relieved to have Lucretia out of the room and away from his children, and the Professor. She was dangerous, too dangerous. Her meeting with Wanda didn't really bother him that much. True, Wanda had had her dealings with evil mutants in the past and was actively pursuing mutant rights. However, the part that did bother him about their meeting was that he knew that she still worked with Peitro extensively and he knew that the Maximoff brother would go to any means which probably meant that they both would, but what would it be? He dropped the question for now and turned his attention to last nights events.

Lucretia had threatened the Professor, and for that matter, every telepath in the Institute. That meant his children and his wife were in danger. He had to discover a way to protect them from a mad woman. To top everything off, she had acted like nothing happened last night. He gritted his teeth, that girl had some nerve. Someone had to teach her some manners.

Rachel and Christopher Summers waited a good amount of time after Lucretia left the room to excuse themselves from the table. They nodded to their mother, telling her telepathically what they intended to do. She answered their message with a plead for care and discretion. Lucretia was not someone to be taken lightly. She was a thief and an assassin. They nodded to her again, slightly, indicating that they understood and left.

They caught up with the raven-haired mutant in the foyer. She was dressed more conservatively now in a pair of black pants and a simple, plain t-shirt. She smiled lightly at the twins.

"You two enjoy y'selves las'night?"

They shook their heads, "Not really."

"Too much?"

"Maybe."

She shrugged, "Guess I need t' be a bit gentler from now on, non?"

"Just a bit," Rachel grinned.

Lucretia laughed, "Alright, you win. Now how can I help you two?"

"We were thinking we might help you," Chris offered.

"Oh?" Lucretia asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, after what happened last night, we thought you could use it," Rachel offered.

Lucretia raised both eyebrows in interest, "What happened last night?"

"You don't remember?" asked Chris.

She shook her head, "I never do."

"Remarkable," Rachel breathed.

"So what'd I do?"

"You threatened the Professor."

"Stark naked."

To the mild surprise of both twins, Lucretia laughed, "De old fart deserves it!"

"It's nothing to laugh about," Rachel pouted, "You threatened to kill him!"

"Really? Oh dis keeps getting' better. I wonder what else I've done."

"We could tell you that too. Separately, we're not very powerful telepaths, but if we join our minds we're one remarkably powerful omega class."

"I'll t'ink about it, but fo' now, my schedule's full. I got a business meetin' in an hour and den I meet wit' ol' baldy."

"Let us know tomorrow then?"

"I will."

The twins smiled at her and went their own way.

Lucretia smiled back and shook her head as they turned their backs to her. They were impossible, weren't they?

Jean watched quietly from the doorway, smiling at her children's initiative. She really was quite proud of them. She turned her attention to Lucretia. For some reason, the girl's surface thoughts were like an open book to her. Unfortunately, the book's pages also came with frightful and maddening images. It took all of her reserves to keep herself together and to hide it from everyone around her. It was as if the images had been buried deep for years and the reappearance of the Lebeau girl had caused them to resurface. She had tried to ignore them, but it was almost as if the thoughts were seeking her out. Right now, they were telling her that Lucretia really had no idea what happened last night. She was also greatly amused by the twin's confrontation. She admired their spunk. Jean knew that they would get along fairly well over the next few months, or even years, depending on how well they succeeded.

Lucretia stood between her mother and father outside Kennedy airport. She leaned haphazardly against the car door, a clove cigarette dangling precariously out of her mouth. The four of them wore red-tinted sunglasses in order to hide her, her father's and her brother's red on black eyes. Finally, they're guests exited the airport. It was a small entourage. There were four men who appeared to be body guards, an older man with sandy blonde and peppered hair, a young man with brown hair, and a figure dressed completely in black, from head to toe. The figure was obviously male by his swagger and large hands, also noticeable by the way the older man treated him. He looked like a Muslim, but she knew better. He had an obvious mutation.

One of the security guards opened the door of the limo for the three men. Lucretia's family followed. The black figure began to quickly unwrap himself. First, the gloves, then the head wrap and finally his sunglasses. He was white, extremely white. If you had thrown him, naked into a snow storm, no one would have seen him. His hair was white, his skin was white, even his eyes. The only color on him was the inside of his mouth and the pupils of his eyes.

"Well then," the older man began, he had a thick Cockney accent, "let's get down t' business."

"Oui," Remy confirmed.

"I still don't know why y' wanted someone from so far off. A boy from New York woulda done just as well."

Remy pointed to Lucretia, "De petite wanted it dis way."

"I see, well, girls will be girls, won't they?"

Remy shrugged, "I like t' make sure de women in my life're happy, makes t'ings easy."

Rogue smiled slightly.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know 'bout that, friend, but I knows a good deal when I see it. So what day?"

"July 6th, t'ree days after her affirmation ceremony as my heir, wit' tradition."

" 'Ere in New York or down in the swamps?"

Remy laughed, "De swamps, at least dere it rains."

The older man nodded, "Give 'em plenty o' time t' get t' know each other."

"Oui."

Confused? Good. And no, I'm not going to explain, not for a long time. If you think you know, keep yer mouths shut! I'm sorry it took so long, really. I've just been so busy settling in and what not. It should be a bit more regular now, at least once a week. At least I hope so. Until the next update, review please!


	7. Ode to Fight Club

Lucky439: All will be explained in time, honest.

T.: There are times when Lu is fond of her mother, but for the most, she's pretty loyal to her father.

Cris-X: I know, I absolutely loved the twins in the Matrix. I hope they're in the next one. They were uber cool. The twins in this one aren't as groovy, but still pretty awesome, ja?

Disclaimer: I don't own it, all right? Stop pestering me!

Lucretia returned to the mansion after having the most boring lunch of her life. They had gone to this really upscale mutant restaurant on the other side of town. The food was great, but all her Pappa would talk about was trivial stuff like schools and grades and weather. She was bored out of her mind. She knew it was politeness and that official guild matters should not be discussed in public, but still, it irked her. She'd much rather be out doing work for the guild, hastening the day of the rebirth of the Old Kingdom when all were equals to one another, as the prophecy promised. Her father didn't believe it anymore which made her wonder why he stayed with the guild. Was he obeying his father's last wishes? Or maybe there was still a bit of curiosity left in him. What was more probable was that he had never known anything else and it was more a result of habit and security. However, the guilds were not secure. There was a traitor among them. She made it her personal mission to find out who it was. Her little brother could have been killed. That irked her even more. She would find whoever it was, slit their throat and bury the corpse in the deepest river she could find. She was startled out of her musings by a gentle telepathic probe. She jerked her head around to see Xavier sitting serenely in the doorway of his office, a light smile on his face. She scowled at him.

"You had no right!"

"I didn't even think you would feel it."

Her eyes narrowed, "Dere's a lot about me you don' know, old man."

"Then tell me."

"Absolutely not!"

"If you are going to attend this school, you will have to speak to me at some point."

"I'm not attending dis school! I'm stayin' here cause my Pappa asked me to, not because I want to."

"I understand that, Lucretia, but your father tells me that you are having trouble with your powers, I merely want to help."

"Why cuz I'm a mutant?"

"Partially, but also because you are the daughter of a dear friend and I know they both care deeply for you."

She snorted, "I'm sure dey are yo' friends, afterall, you didn' really give mon Pere a warm welcome when he came back from Antarctica. You would just as soon leave him t' die just as anyone else in dis godforsaken place would have!" She spat on the floor and turned to leave.

__

Where are you going?

She spun back around and stormed towards Xavier, picking him up out of his chair like he were little more than a rag doll, "Stay outta my mind monsieur, you won' like what you find dere."

"What would I find?" he gasped slightly.

"Death," she whispered and dropped him back into his chair. She turned back around to leave again and he could here as she left, "Mon Dieu! Dey have no idea!!"

Lucretia stopped briefly by her room to change and grab a few things for her session in the Danger Room. She was absolutely infuriated by Xavier. That man had no manners. True, she wasn't much better, but she did want some respect from him. After all, she could turn his brain to mush in a matter of seconds if she wanted to, she had done it before. She frowned at the memory. The man had offered very little challenge and rather than draw out the fight, she had killed him instantly by increasing the gravitational force in his brain cavity, liquefying it. Blood had spurted from his nose and his eyes rolled up in the back of his skull. The whole experience had made her queasy, she could only imagine doing that to a telepath. She'd rather not have to do that again. She was half way through changing when a noise at her door distracted her. She dropped her gi top and pulled a lightweight dagger from under her pillow. She crept quietly to the door and opened it with a strong yank, surprising the two young mutants outside her door.

Cyclops looked carefully over the program he had prepared for Lucretia. It was one of the most difficult programs available in the Danger Room. So difficult that only a seasoned mutant could handle it with difficulty. The only mutant he had known to get a near perfect had been Wolverine, but the man was a monster in hand to hand combat. Despite his efforts to lure Jean away from him, Cyclops admired him. He was a tough fighter, one of the toughest he had known. Of course, if he knew what Scott was about to do, he would probably skewer him on his claws and use his head as a door knocker, but he felt that this was necessary. Lucretia was a threat. She was dangerous and mad beyond all doubt. He felt that Jean trusted her, but he couldn't allow that. The sooner she was out of the way, the safer his team and his family would be. Of course, if they ever connected her death to him, he would probably be ostracized by most of them. Hopefully, she would only be crippled, unable to perform at her peak abilities. Carefully, so as not to alert Beast to his plans, he took the safeties off. A knot formed in his stomach, but he knew this would be for the better.

Lucretia stared down at the faces of the twins and smiled slightly, "Eavesdroppin'? You learn fast." She turned back around and picked up the shirt and placed the dagger back underneath her pillow.

"We weren't eavesdropping, Lucretia, we were coming by to talk to you," Rachel explained.

"We heard what you did to the Professor," Chris chimed in.

Lucretia shrugged, "He should know better dan t' go playin' in minds he's never been in before."

Chris shook his head, 'That's not the point, you're going to make a lot of enemies real fast if you don't start behaving."

"I am behavin'. Somebody's gotta teach dat man t' mind his manners. No offense t' you two, but I don' like telepaths. Dey are unwelcomed, especially in my mind. I have special defenses in my mind made 'specially fo' dem. Anyone digs too deep uninvited, dey pay de consequences."

"And what would those consequences be?" Rachel gulped.

"Paranoia, madness, and a quick death after weeks of blabberin' incoherently. It's all a trick o' de mind really, but pretty damned effective."

"That's awful!"

"Dat's life ma cherie. Plus it keeps t'ings interestin'. Now I know dat's not all you came t' talk about, non?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, we wanted to see if you had thought about our offer."

"To help you."

"Non, I hadn'," she paused for a moment, "All right, after my session wit' yo' Pappa, we'll start."

"Excellent," the both beamed.

Lucretia smiled at them and finished tying her belt, "Why don' you come down an' watch, should be interestin'."

Cyclops watched Lucretia enter the Danger Room proudly. She wore a white gi made out of some sort of lightweight material and she carried a black velvet bag with her. She bowed to the control room and opened the bag, pulling out two sheathed swords. The hilts were a beautiful ebony color and handsomely carved, though he couldn't see what was on them from this distance. She knelt and with a mother's care, she pulled the blades out of their sheaths. They were wasakashis. He had seen Logan fight with them once, but only once. Cyclops hadn't anticipated that Lucretia would fight with swords, he had never heard of her doing it. Even so, there was no way she could win this battle. He started the program.

Lucretia sprang instantly to action. She sliced through the first attacker with ease and spun on her feet to the next in a balanced, fluid motion. She ducked a punch to the face and turned on her heels to chop into the creature's back, severing the spinal chord with her razor sharp blade. In a surprising motion, she jerked her head, causing her hair to come around and slap another attacker in the face, knocking him to the ground. Faintly, Cyclops could see a metallic ball tied into her braid. She didn't stop there, she jabbed her blade into the man's chest, killing him instantly. She barely missed a kick to the chest and sliced from underneath the offending foot, severing it. She grabbed the remainder of the leg and twisted it hard, making its owner lose her balance and fall face first into the floor. Someone grabbed her from behind and she dropped the swords with a loud clang and flipped them over her head and took her swords back up with her as she leaned into the throw.

A crowd had gathered in the control room. Watching Lucretia was like watching a living blender in action. She sliced and parried and ducked and sliced again. Several times she purposely abandoned the short blades to kill an attacker with her bare hands. At one point she landed on her chest, but used the momentum of the fall and spun around quickly, grabbing another attacker by the head with her feet and twisting viciously. She then flipped back onto her feet in a cat stance, swords miraculously back in her hands. Sweat had formed on her brow and her breathing was heavy.

Cyclops could feel eyes on the back of his head. He turned slightly. Six sets of eyes bored into him. Logan, Rogue, Gambit and Kurt, he could understand, but his children were scowling at him as well. They all knew who had prepared the program. They just didn't understand, this woman is obviously dangerous. Everyone will be better off if she's gone. His thoughts were interrupted by a gasp from Ororo. He turned back around to see Lucretia on the floor, a hand to her side and an angry red stain spreading on her clothes. He could hear Logan growling behind him. To his astonishment, Lucretia got back to her feet and continued fighting. It was as if the wound had made her faster. She was cutting through the attackers like hot knife through butter. Rogue moved to help her daughter, but Remy stopped her, pointing to a brown-haired figure with a white streak speeding across the floor. Rogue smiled serenely and leaned against her husband. Suddenly, the program stopped.

Cyclops turned and saw the Professor with a very disapproving look on his face, "This ends now, Scott. You've made your point."

Scott hung his head low, ashamed of what had come over him. He would apologize, but he never got the chance. The next thing he knew, he felt an iron grip around his throat and two blood red eyes staring down at him. Gambit, he thought, no, not Gambit, the hair's too dark…Lucretia! My god, it's her! He could feel the blood on her hand.

"I know what you were trying, old man! I should kill you!" Suddenly, everything was very black and all he could see was the Lebeau girl. She was standing yards away from him, wearing a black leotard with matching knee high boots that pointed up at the top. She also wore a pair of red wrist guards in the same style as the boots. She had a flowing cape behind her and a red diamond on her forehead. Black energy swirled around her. Or was that her hair? He couldn't tell. It was too dark. He tried calling out, but no sound would come.

"No one can hear you here. You're inside my mind, Monsieur Summers."

"What, why?"

"I know what haunts you. I know what made you do what you did today."

Her voice is so clear in this space, he thought.

"Yes, it can be, if I have a point to make. You are driven by fear and hatred, Monsieur Summers. Not of me, but of yourself. Holding Apocalypse inside of you was a hard and difficult thing to do and now you must finish what you started. Let go of your fear, he is gone, but he will return if you let him. Be at peace, Scott Summers, let the darkness fade."

Scott was back in the Danger Room, Lucretia still glaring down at him, growling fiercely. There was blood on her teeth making her look like a wild animal. 

"Try dat again," she spat, sprinkling blood on his face, "An' I'll rip yo' throat out!!" She dropped him, suddenly very weak and stumbled back into her brother who caught her.

"That was very stupid, Cyke," Logan chided him, "I trained her myself. She's nearly as good as me, if not better. She can handle anything you can dish out at her with no problem. She's a trained killer. Remember that. The only thing that keeps her from dicin' ya into little bitty pieces is her old man. If you turn him against you, yer as good as chopped liver, ya get me?"

"I understand you just find, little man," he said, going back to the banter that he had used with Wolverine when he had first joined. Logan looked at him strangely.

What's gotten into, Cyke he wondered? He turned back to Lucretia and gave her a bare hand. She took it gratefully and fed off of his healing powers. In return, she sent images and thoughts of her battle in the Danger Room. Her anger and exhilaration. Logan nodded with pride. Just as he had taught her. He looked at Remy and Rogue who smiled at him, grateful of the training he had given their daughter. Xavier approached their group.

"I am sorry for what happened here today, I should have picked up on it sooner."

Kurt shook his head, "It's alright, these things happen Professor. What matters is that she is alright."

"Yes, of course. I will do everything in my power to help her, just as I would any other mutant."

Rogue turned to him, "There's sumthin' you should know about Lucretia and Nicky."

"And what is that?"

"They're not mutants."

Well, next chapter is up. I hope you all enjoy it. I think it's kind of nifty. It gives you a better idea of what Lucretia's really like. There's also a bit of a cliff hanger which I haven't done in quite some time. I promise I'll explain. In the mean time, go review.


	8. Jagged Shores

Disclaimer: Not mine!!

Scott narrowed his eyes, "Not mutants? How do you explain their abilities then?"

Lucretia and Nicky merely stared at him blankly while both Rogue and Remy tried, hopelessly, to explain.

"Well," Rogue began, "They're not mutants in th' same way we are."

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked.

"Perhaps I can explain it better," Hank volunteered. "The normal x-gene is absent from their DNA. Instead, there is a highly complex and mutated gene in its place. Not only that, but their entire DNA is mutated. Each chromosome is responsible for their mutations. Basically, they are the mutation. It's a slight difference, but it's large enough to be noticed and large enough not to consider them normal mutants. I've seen it before it other young mutants. They call themselves 'Beta Mutants' or sometimes post-mutants. They usually exhibit at least two or more mutant abilities and are very powerful, usually a level three or higher. Many don't…"

Gambit interrupted, "T'anks, Henri. As you can see, mes amis, dey are still mutants after a fashion, just wit' a lil' sumt'in' extra, non?" He smiled.

"I've never heard of it," Ororo answered.

"It is very difficult to detect, my dear," McCoy said, "It takes a very skilled and trained eye to detect the differences, but the truth is still there."

"How did you find out," asked Jean.

Gambit and Rogue shifted uneasily. Nicky stepped forward, "Routine check," he volunteered, "Some o' dose mutant services centers got real good doctors." Logan could see the two elder southerners relax. What were they hiding, he wondered? What didn't they want to say? If they didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to push it, but he would find out one way or another.

The team nodded at their explanation, but Gambit could see that they were unsettled by it. Many looked as though they did not want to believe it. He understood, but he hoped they would try and be understanding in return. Beta mutants were not popular among most humans and mutants. Humans saw them as a more dangerous mutant while normal mutants saw them as a threat to their continuing freedom. They had risked a great deal by telling the X-men, but still, if Lucretia and Nicky were to live here, they should know.

Everyone slowly filtered out of the room, leaving the Lebeau clan last to leave. Rogue turned to her daughter.

"Yoah not gonna hold this against Cyclops, are ya, Cretia honey?"

She shook her head, "Non, he's not wort' it. Easier just to keep him on his toes." She smiled wickedly.

"Lucretia," her mother warned. The smile faded when she glanced at her father's scowling face.

"I wasn' gonna do anyt'in' to him, not bad, just give him a good scare is all…"

"I t'ought we taught you better dan dat, petite. Treat ol' one eye wit' a bit o' respect and t'ings'll be easy fo' you."

She nodded, "Alright, I'll be nice t' him, but dat don' mean I'm gonna like him."

"We're not expectin' ya to, honey. Just try and get along with him's all."

She let out a heavy sigh, "Fine, I'll play nice."

"Good."

Lucretia split off from her family to think by herself. It had been close today, too close. She could have died, but she didn't, fortunately. Once again, fate had smiled on her. She had told the truth to her parents, she wouldn't try to get Cyclops back, but she did really want to give him a good scare. How to do it without getting caught though? Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran into the Summers twins.

"Hey, Lu!"

She glared at them, "Call me Anne, only my family calls me Lu."

"Anne?"

"Oui, Lucretia Anna-Belle Lebeau."

"Okay, Anne it is."

"Are you ready for your first session?"

Her face softened into a faint smile, "Sure, Doctor Chris. Where should I sit?"

Rachel giggled when her brother blushed and pointed to a bench beside the front porch. Lucretia nodded and walked to the bench the girl had indicated. The twins sat down on either side of her and she snatched up their hands immediately. They both looked at her quizzically slightly surprised as well.

"Nobody can enter my mind ot'erwise. It gets real messy an' I wanted t' make sure you didn' make a mistake by tryin' first. I have t' guide you t'rough."

They both nodded and closed their eyes. Lucretia felt their presence immediately, or rather a presence. In the mind, Rachel and Christopher formed into one entity. The figure was shadowy but solid. She could feel the power coming off. It was like waves of psychic energy.

__

Let's find Xavier's block…

She nodded to them and gestured for the entity to follow. They passed through several landscapes, many with large doors with the bolts thrown shut and large chains wrapped around them.

__

What are those doors for, the entity asked.

"Dat's what I'm protectin' y' from. Dey're booby traps I set up fo' telepaths dat come in uninvited."

It nodded, _And the place we're in now?_

"Dis is my meditation plane. Dis is where I go when I want to relax."

__

It's lovely.

"T'anks."

__

Are those your memories?

Lucretia turned to the direction indicated. She saw a small raven haired girl next to a tombstone, crying heavily. The name said 'Tante Mattie." She nodded, "Dere's a bunch like dat. Dat's de price you pay fo' bein' a guild member."

__

How old were you when she died?

"Five. She was my grandmere. I t'ink Pappa took it harder dan I did. I don' know, he never said anyt'in' much when she left us."

__

What's that way?

"My dreams, not much else. You don' wanna go down dere, trust me," she smiled broadly.

__

No, I don't think we do.

She laughed, "You're so naïve, non? You'll find out one day."

The entity was silent for a moment, then, _Where are your nightmares?_

She stopped for a moment, "Dat way," she stated, pointing to a placid ocean, "Dey isolate demselves after I have dem. Dey don' like de light."

The entity formed a row boat on the lake and they climbed in. The boat propelled itself across the waters. Lucretia was rigid in her seat.

__

Are you alright?

"I'm fine, jus' don' like de noise."

__

What noise?

"De voices, can' you hear dem? Dey're so loud…"

__

Should we turn back?

"Non, keep going. I want to know what's dere."

The entity nodded and pushed the boat further across the ocean. A small island was forming in the distance. Wind blew ferociously across the trees while lightning crashed above. The beaches were covered in large shop rocks that had several corpses strewn across them. As the got closer, Lucretia's state worsened.

"Turn around," she pleaded, covering her face, "it's too strong."

__

What?

"De smell? De rotting flesh, it's stinkin' up everyt'in'!"

__

I don't smell anything.

"Just turn this god damned boat…" she stopped, staring at one of the bodies on the shore and then suddenly turned to the edge of the boat and dived in.

Chris and Rachel snapped out of their connection with Lucretia. She pushed herself away from them, staggering across the ground on her hands and knees. Finally she stopped and brought her knees up to her chest and began talking to herself. Occasionally, she shook her head, cursing at the air. Rachel approached her timidly.

"Anne, are you okay?"

She snapped her head up and stared at the girl, wide-eyed. Her eyes softened when she recognized her. "De bodies," she muttered, "dey were mutants, I knew dem.."

Please, tell me what you think. I'll try to keep updating when I can. I don't think I'll stop anytime soon, that's for sure. Just go review and I'll post soon.


	9. Another House Guest

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Marvel.

Lucretia sipped her coffee with a great amount of disinterest. It had no flavor, no smell, she couldn't even feel the heat of the mug on her skin. Every part of her was focused on the image that kept replaying in her mind over and over again. She snapped out of her daze as a hand passed in front of her face.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

She drew her attention to two sets of green eyes, vaguely remembering that after her moment of panic, the twins had drug her into the rec room and shoved a cup of coffee into her hands.

"Everything alright?"

She stared at the Summers twins for a few more minutes and then nodded weakly.

"You're sure?" Rachel insisted.

She nodded again.

"You said you knew those mutants," Chris offered. "From where?"

Lucretia's body shook involuntarily as she set down her coffee mug, "I don' know. I jus' know dat I knew dem."

"Could they be people that you have an empathic link with?"

She shook her head, "Non, I would know. 'Sides, only people I have dat kinda link wit' are family."

"Not even some of your high school or college friends?"

"Dey weren' close enough t' be considered family."

"What do you mean, close enough?"

"I mean, dat dere are certain people dat I know so well dat dey're like family t' me, dat's all."

"Like Logan?"

She nodded, "An' Kurt, an' Ororo, an' all de Guild members."

The twins nodded in understanding, "So who do you think the mutants in your mind might have been?"

"Mutant's I'm gonna meet or ancestors or sumt'in'. I'm not really sure. All I know is dat each an every one of dem were dead and I had sumt'in' t' do wit' it."

Chris nodded, "I think we need to schedule another session."

Lucretia looked at him in absolute terror, "Absolutely not! Dat place is awful fo' anyone t' see. I don' like it an' I'm not bringin' you two back in dere! Jus' imagine what yo' pere would say if he found out what you were doin'? He'd rip you both a new one and den come hunt me down for lettin' y'! Deal's off!"

"I very much doubt you're afraid of our father," Rachel said wryly. "Just this afternoon, you were ready to kill him."

Lucretia shook her head again, "Dat was different, he nearly killed me. I was angry. I was bein' rash. I don' kill mutants, no matter how much dey deserve it."

Both Rachel and Christopher raised their eyebrows in surprise. "But you're an assassin!" Chris argued.

Lucretia shrugged, "Don' mean I can' choose my targets, now does it? Now you two go run along an' act like you was doin' sumt'in' else today, an' I'll explain t' m' family what happened."

"Yes, what exactly did happen?" asked a highly annoyed voice from behind them.

Lucretia turned to see her mother looking at her very sternly, arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

"De twins jus' tryin' t' help me out, mamman, dat's all."

"Do their parents know?"

"Mother knows," Rachel stated, "she encouraged it, said it would be good practice."

"Well, Ah don't appreciate y'all practicin' on mah daughter without tellin' either me or Remy first. Ah got a nasty jolt about five minutes ago and Ah spent the next foah tryin' to figure out which o' my children was in trouble. You tell me next time, hear?"

Both Rachel and Chris nodded and then escaped the room as fast as possible. Rogue watched them leave and then moved closer to her daughter, sitting on the love seat opposite her. "What happened?" she asked calmly.

Lucretia shrugged at her mother.

Rogue sighed, "Figures. Ah'm sure you'll tell yoah Pappa though, won't you?"

Lucretia stared at her, a hint of guilt behind her eyes. "I…" she started and then bolted to her feet, "AUNT DONNIE!" she screamed with joy. She dropped the cup on the table and sprinted to the front door, running into Nicky on the way. The two looked at each other for a fraction of a second, elation on both their faces and then continued their sprint to the front gates of Xavier Mansion.

Belladonna Beudreaux shook her hair out as she stepped out of her 2003 BMW convertible. It wasn't really hers, it belonged to the New York Guilds, but that didn't bother her. What bothered her was that someone had tried to kill her two favorite little guild members. She seethed in anger, but her thoughts were interrupted by two heavy bodies barreling into her.

Bon Soir, mes petit fils."

Lucretia scowled at Bella, "I wish y' wouldn' call us dat anymore, Donnie."

"I will keep callin' you dat until you stop callin' me Donnie! De name's Belladonna!"

Lucretia gave her an evil grin, "Then I guess yo' just gonna have t' keep callin' us yo' little ones, non?"

It was Bell's turn to scowl, but it soon faded and was replaced by an enchanting laugh, "I guess I will."

The three walked halfway up the drive where they were greeted by Rogue and Gambit, both of them smiling.

"Belle," Gambit beamed, giving her a quick hug, "what brings you up here?"

"I heard about what happened an' got on de first flight outta New Orleans."

Gambit nodded, "As you can see, dey're bot' fine."

She nodded back, "Yes, but dat don' excuse de fact dat sumt'in' happened, non?"

"No it doesn't. Rogue, go an' tell de ot'ers dat Belle will be stayin' here dis evenin' an' not to worry."

"Oh no, Remy,' dat's not necessary, I already made arrangements wit' de New York Guild."

"Absurd! You're family, non? You stay in de mansion tonight. You can stay in de boat house if you feel more comfortable."

Belle nodded at his suggestion and continued towards the house.

"Dis calls fo' sumt'in' special. Belle, how would you like to hear Nicky and 'Cretia play tonight?"

Belladonna's face lit up, "I haven' heard dem in ages, dat would be wonderful!"

Bella's was not the only one excited. "You really mean it Pappa," Lucretia asked, "We can play?"

Gambit nodded, "It's been a while and I t'ink dat de Professor needs to see what you two are capable of."

Once again, the two Lebeau children were given to elation and immense joy and they bolted straight up the stairs and to their rooms. Gambit smiled slightly. It was good to see his children happy on occasion. It came so rarely.

Cyclops had grudgingly agreed to allow Belladonna to stay at the mansion as long as she was in the boat house and far away from the students. He really did not feel comfortable having anymore of Gambit's kind in the house. They were truly untrustworthy, but if the Professor said it was all right, then Cyclops supposed it was okay. He would still keep a close eye on all of them when he could. 

He stood in the doorway of the recroom, observing it's appearance. The furniture had been rearranged to allow for a small music recital. It had surprised Scott to learn that the Lebeau children had been musically trained, but then again, why not? They were trained in so many harsh disciplines that perhaps music was the only way to still them. From what he had over heard from their parents, the two young mutants had not performed together in some time due to school and other circumstances of which he was not sure. Everyone began to take their seats so Scott took his by his wife and fidgeted uncomfortably.

Jean peered at her husband, "Scott, relax, it's just a music recital. Rogue says the children are really good and it's generally very enjoyable. Besides, what could possibly happen?"

Scott continued to be uneasy. He could think of lots of things, but tried his best to keep them to his self. His children giggled quietly. He was quite aware that they were picking up his thoughts and was slightly disturbed that they found his fears amusing. They had spent too much time with Gambit's children, he was sure. He stopped in the middle of his next thought as the two entered the room.

Lucretia wore a long black evening gown while Nicky wore a simple black button up shirt with matching slacks. They both bowed and then pulled their violins to their shoulders. They spent a few minutes tuning and then, at Lucretia's cue, the music began.

The first was a speedy waltz followed by a slower violin concerto. As the music progressed, the room relaxed, including Cyclops. As if trying to wake them up from their comfort, the siblings burst into a driving Zydeco piece from New Orleans. They kept the tempo up for the next couple of pieces and then brought it back down to a peaceful requiem. Cyclops glanced at his watch, an hour had passed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rogue tense in her chair. Something was about to happen, but what? As if in answer to his unspoken question, Lucretia winked at her brother, taking a deep breath. She plunged into what appeared to be a slow piece at first but gradually picked up speed. Nicky was backing away from her, but it was barely enough to notice. Rogue clenched the arms of her chair. Cyclops could tell now that it was a Russian gypsy piece and glanced quickly at Storm. There was a sweet smile on her face. He could tell she was remembering Piotr Rasputin, once known as the mutant Colossus. He had been a good man, but that thought was interrupted. Cyclops turned his attention back to Nicky and Lucretia long enough to notice that Nicky, unable to keep up with his sister's tempo, had stopped playing and was now inching away at a frightening speed. He looked at Lucretia. Her eyes were closed and she was moving to the music as she played, swaying slightly. Suddenly, the music stopped and her violin clattered to the ground. Her eyes were wide open and glowing a dangerous red. Her back was rigid and her arms were outstretched at her sides, as if they were held there. A black mist began to swirl around her. Finally, the mist enveloped her completely, and she could no longer be seen.

Cyclops glanced at the room around him. Most of them seemed unable to move after witnessing what just happened while a few others, very few, stared intently at the black orb in the center of the room. These few were Gambit, Rogue, Logan, and Belladonna. Kurt moved towards the orb, but Logan caught his arm and shook his head.

"She could be hurt!"

He shook his head again, "Trust me elf, ya don't wanna go near it."

"This has happened before?" Storm inquired, finally broken out of her shock.

Rogue and Gambit nodded, still staring at where their daughter had been.

"What is it?"

No one spoke for several moments. "It's part of her mutation," Rogue began, "she can make black holes and worm holes an' things like that, but she can't control it. They come and go as they please, usually when she's distracted like this. There's really nothin' we can do until it dissolves."

"And how long could that be?" Kurt spoke again. "She could be seriously hurt!"

"Oh, she'll be alright," Logan comforted him, "but she'd be a whole lot worse for wear if we tried t' help her. Once touch on that thing, and everything gets scrambled. We have to wait til her body realizes that it can't stay in there and shuts it off. We don't wanna to surprise her, it could be more damaging than you think."

As if answering everyone's questions, the orb began to slowly fade and Lucretia dropped to the ground onto her hands and knees. Her skin was very pale and covered in many cuts and bruises. Blood was dripping from her eyes and nose, making a bright red pool on the floor below her. Kurt moved to help her up, but Logan caught him again and nodded to Rogue. She nodded back and knelt next to her daughter. Immediately, Lucretia shot up, grabbing her mother and pinned her to the wall. After several seconds, her senses came back to her and she let go, stumbling backwards. She fought for several more moments for balance and finally straightened up. She slowly took in her surrounds and stopped, letting out a loud gasp.

"NICKY!!"

He was on the floor, gasping for air and flailing his arms. Lucretia bolted to his side, picked him and proceeded towards the med bay. The rest of the X-men barely had time to keep up.

There's the next one. Please read and review. You may have noticed that I don't give out my thanks at the beginning of the chapters anymore. Well, that's because I haven't received my reviews for the past two chapters. So if you have any questions comments or concerns, try sending them to me again or e-mailing me. I'll be happy to answer. But keep sending reviews. Who knows, they may have fixed the glitch by now.


	10. A Sense of Urgency

Disclaimer: Attention, Marvel owns the X-men, not I. That is all.

Rogue stared blankly across the medbay at her two children. Her son, Nicky lay unconscious in a bed while her daughter, Lucretia sat beside him, staring intently at her brother's face as though willing him to wake. A voice caught her attention.

"Rogue, are you listening?"

"Oh yeah, sorry Hank. What were you saying?"

"I asked you why you didn't bring this to my attention before hand."

"What?"

Beast bit back his annoyance, "The fact that your children could be seriously ill!"

"Oh," she said quietly and sighed. She sat in silence for a long moment and turned to him, "What would it have mattered, Hank? You woulda just told me what all the other doctors have said."

"And what would that be my dear?"

"That mah children are sick, it's a genetic disease caused by god knows what and they'll be lucky if they see th' otha side o' twenty-five!" she screamed at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, but Ah know what made them like this! It's those damned no-fields! They're everywhere and every time mah kids get anywhere near 'em they get sick! Those fields are what's killin' 'em an' don't you dare act like you don't know!"

Remy stepped up to his wife and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him, "Quiet now chere, it's alright. Henri didn' mean not'in' by it." Rogue said nothing and buried her face deeper into her husband's chest, sobbing freely now.

Hank merely sighed and dropped himself into a nearby chair, "I had been wondering for quite some time about that. I knew that the beta-mutants generally did not live much past thirty, but I had considered it a by-product of the registration programs and hate crimes. Now I understand. The fields are shutting down their systems, aren't they? By turning of the mutation, the machines are in fact shutting down the entire body because of their unique genetic structure, yes?"

Gambit merely nodded, "Not all de doctors see it dat way, but oui, dat's what happens."

Beast raised an eyebrow, "Not all? Of course, not everyone would want to admit that the machines are harmful. There are those that would panic and still others that would use it to their advantage and attack other mutants with that knowledge."

Gambit nodded again. Rogue had stopped crying and was staring at her children again.

"Still," Beast continued, "if you had told me earlier, I may have been able to develop a treatment for them."

Rogue turned back to him, "There are treatments, Hank, but they're long an' costly, an' not generally the best idea."

"What are these treatments."

"Isolation and gene therapy, but as Ah said, they take a long time and th' mutants who go through with it, well let's just say that they aren't the best of company."

"Oh? How so?"

"They're extremely jumpy fo' th' most part. Not very sociable either. They usually end up livin' on th' street, mutterin' to themselves and blastin' anythin' that moves. After a couple o' weeks, someone from mutant registration picks 'em up and that's the last anyone hears of 'em. Not all of 'em turn out like that though, some of 'em, it works just right for, but they're few an' far between."

Hank nodded silently, "I see. Well, that just give me more reason to find a better treatment."

Rogue sighed, "Please don't get mah hopes up Hank, Ah couldn't live with it. Just don't tell me anythin' o' what yoah doin', alright?"

"Very well, you'll hear not a word from me until I have made some ground."

Rogue smiled in appreciation and then turned back to her children.

Lucretia was whispering quietly to her brother, but always aware of the conversation between McCoy and her parents. Thoughts and questions ran through her mind. How long did she really have? Were there other possibilities out there? If so, what were they? What would the price be? She turned her attention back to her brother and brushed a stray hair from his face.

"Nicky, mon petit frère, vous ne pouvez pas tomber malade. Un de nous doit le faire. La famille doit continuer." Nicky, my little brother, you cannot get sick. One of us has to make it. The family must continue.

She let out a long sigh. So much was happening so quickly. Her ascension as heir to the guilds and all that that entailed, the twins delving through her mind, the traitor in the Guild, and now Nicky was ill. She shook her head. Something had to give at one point or another. Now whether it happened of its own accord or she forced it, that was another story. Her mind drifted to her parents conversation. Her poor mother was so upset. Not that worrying would make any of it change. Lucretia had accepted that she would die at a young age a long time ago, but now that her brother was also ill, she wasn't sure if she was as ready for death as she had believed. Someone had to carry on the Lebeau legacy, but both of them were sick and dying. Before now, it had never really been an issue, but now, some way had to be found of saving one or both of them. But how?

Shouting outside the medbay disturbed her thoughts. Remy and Rogue turned towards the door, but Lucretia was already up and moving.

"I'll handle it," she stated briskly and opened the door.

"Bella, please," Kurt begged, "I just want to see my nephew!"

The tall blonde shook her head, "Non, immediate family only, Remy's orders. Until they say it's okay, you stay out here."

"Now you just wait a minute," Logan snarled, "we've had as much to do with that kid's rearin' as anybody else. I don't care what gumbo says, you let us in!"

Bella simply stared at him, her eyes cold and placid. Logan did not back down. Fortunately, their dispute was ended when the door to the medbay opened.

Lucretia stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her. She could hardly imagine Bella and Logan at each other's throats. They had been her teachers as a child and now they were ready to fight one another. She cleared her throat.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly.

Kurt stepped forward, "We just wanted to see how Nicky was doing."

Lucretia glanced at Logan and Bella and then back at Kurt, "He's fine, he's resting now. Give him anot'er hour and I t'ink he'll be alright fo' visitors." She smiled thinly.

Logan relaxed a little, but he still glared disapprovingly at Bella. She ignored this and turned to Lucretia.

"Êtes-vous bien?" Are you alright?

Est-ce que naturellement, pourquoi je ne serais pas? Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Bella merely nodded and resumed her watch. Lucretia turned to Logan.

"You didn' really t'ink you would fight her?"

"I woulda if she had given me any more lip."

Lucretia laughed, but it was empty. It was as if something had suddenly gone out of her. Logan wasn't the only one to notice, but no one said anything.

Scott, who had been talking quietly with Storm and Jean, made a stab at small talk.

"You know, Ms. Beaudreaux, I never realized how much younger you were than Gambit."

Bella turned her head, "Oh?"

"Yes," Jean agreed, "I noticed that as well. I had always thought that you two were closer in age."

"We are de same age," she stated.

"But you look to be almost Lucretia's age. How is that?"

Bella smiled, "A lady never reveals her secrets."

"What secrets, Belle?" Remy teased as he left the medbay.

Standing next to Bella, it was now noticeable that Gambit did not look older than her at all and in fact looked much closer to his daughter's age as well. He barely even had a gray hair. Scott spoke first.

"Gambit," he began, "how old are you?"

Remy looked at him questioningly, "Not much older dan you, mon ami. You know dat. Why so suspicious?"

"Oh, I'm not suspicious, Gambit, just curious. You see, you don't look like you've aged a day since you left the team."

Gambit merely shrugged, "Good genes, non?" He turned to Kurt and Logan, "You can go in now. Everyt'in's been sorted out wit' Henri."

"Danke."

"Thanks."

Though he was not satisfied with Gambit's answer, Scott turned back to his conversation with Ororo and Jean, but now that Remy was sure no one could see him, Bella saw exactly how old he was. His face was lined with worry and dread, but Bella knew that he'd never let it show if he knew that anyone was watching. Over time, she had developed a method of looking at him without really looking at him. Someone had to know what state he was in, he was the Patriarch of the guilds after all.

Nicky felt a hand brush against his face and instinctively snatched it away from him, twisting it in an unnatural fashion. He let go when he realized that the hand had only three fingers and was slightly fuzzy.

"Sorry Kurt," he muttered, eyes still shut.

Kurt rubbed his wrist slightly, "It's alright, it was a natural reaction."

Nicky opened one eye and glanced at his uncle. He smiled, "One would t'ink you would know better by now."

"Just had to be sure you were awake, kiddo," Logan grunted from the door.

"Oui, I'm awake, just waitin' fo' de room t' stop spinnin's all."

Logan and Kurt chuckled.

"So what happened?" Kurt inquired.

"I musta got hit by some o' Lu's gravity waves. It happens."

Logan gave a small nod, "That was some blast she gave off."

Nicky nodded back, "She can' control it dough. It's like wit' Storm's powers, any lack of emotional control an', boom, dere goes de gravity. Unfortunately, it's gettin' harder an' harder fo' her to keep it in check."

Logan raised an eyebrow while Kurt merely sat in silence.

"It's like mamman said de ot'er day, Lu's not completely right upstairs, if you know what I mean. She's been pushed an' shoved so much by de Guilds, an' Mutant Services, an' schools, an' half a dozen ot'er t'ings dat her mind's startin' t' crack. Her nightmares don' help much eit'er, and I figure as soon as she starts figurin' out what's goin' on dere, she gonna be on de far side o' de funny farm."

Logan placed a hand on Nicky's shoulder, "Then we're just gonna have to watch her real close, alright?"

"Ja," Kurt volunteered, "she's been through enough."

That night, Lucretia slept fitfully. Echoes called to her, beckoning her to the farthest reaches of her mind. Shadows crawled from every corner, but the dreams were dominated by one overpowering shadow. It was taller than the rest and gave a low, haunting laugh when she tried to find the voices in her mind. It never spoke and as she came further and further to the voices, the shadow became larger and larger until it filled her entire mind and wrapped itself around her and then darkness fell and she awoke in a cold sweat.

And yet another chapter. No one seems to be reviewing except for Lucky439, and I thank you. If anyone else should happen along, I would appreciate some reviews. Thanks.


	11. Homeward Bound

Disclaimer: It belongs to Marvel and if you ask me again, I will gut you with my floppy!

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I was going along in the story and realized that I had made a mistake and that I didn't want to go in that direction. So, I'm replacing this chapter and deleting 12. Hopefully things will work out better this way. Please tell me what you think.

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Belle gave the two mutants a tight hug. "Sorry I couldn't stay longer petits, but I pushed it as long as I could wit' Nicky gettin' sick. Time fo' me t' be goin'."

Lucretia and Nicky squeezed back. "We understand, Belle," Lucretia muttered, "We all got work t' do."

It had been three days since Belladonna had arrived and Lucretia had seemed to become colder during that time, more distant. It was as if her mind was always somewhere else. She could almost always be found in the danger room training or out on the grounds meditating. She would visit with Nicky occasionally and then disappear for hours on end. Her eyes had an empty look to them now. Everyone worried, but anytime they tried to help, she lashed out violently at them or ignored them completely. Sometimes, she could be heard muttering quietly to herself.

She suddenly let go of Bella and sat on the step, staring into the sky. Bella merely sighed and turned to Nicky.

"Keep an eye on her, alright?"

He nodded, "Take care, Belle."

Bella turned to Rogue and Gambit, giving each a hug in turn. She smiled sweetly to Kurt and gave Logan a firm handshake.

"Aurevoir!"

And she was gone.

Remy turned and looked hard at Lucretia for a moment and then turned to his wife. "Start packin' y' bags, Chere. It's time we took her back to Nawlins."

Rogue nodded while Kurt stared at Remy in shock, "Back? But you just got here."

Remy smiled at him, "It won' be fo' long, mon ami. Dere are t'ings we need t' take care of back home, and I t'ink it would do Cretia some good. It'll be her first birthday at home in a long while."

"Ah, and what are you planning for her?"

Remy looked at his daughter again and then back at Kurt, placing a finger over his lips, "Shhh, don' ruin de surprise. We'll talk later." He gave the fuzzy blue mutant a wink and walked inside.

Kurt smiled knowingly, but it quickly faded from his face. Lucretia still sat on the steps, engrossed in whatever it was she occupied herself with these days. Only a week ago she had been lively and passionate, but now she was cold and distant. He sighed, perhaps a few days back in her beloved city would bring her back.

Lucretia stood and walked blankly inside the mansion, leaving Kurt and Nicholas alone on the steps. The two mutants looked at one another in an instant of understanding. They could not lose her.

A few days later, the entire Lebeau family was packed and ready to depart. They said their goodbyes and that was it. Remy knew it was the right thing to do as soon as they sat down on the plane. Lucretia kept shifting nervously and looking out the window as if expecting to see the lights of New Orleans instantly. Rogue squeezed her husband's hand, "Thank you." All he could do was smile.

The plane touched down in Louis Armstrong airport hours later and soon after, Lucretia was back in New Orleans. She breathed deep and sighed. This was home. Gambit, however, wasted no time getting to business.

"Rogue, take de petite wit you today and pick up a few t'ings for de Ascension."

She nodded.

"But Pappa," Lucretia began, "we just got here...."

"I know petite, but you got t'ings t' do first, non? Work befo' play."

She gave an overexaggerated sigh and sneaked a sly glance to her brother. He gave an equally sly grin and winked at her. They knew this town like the back of their hands and they especially knew how to sneak away from parents and other authority figures.

Lucretia walked out of the first shop with her mother, terribly bored. Lord, how she hated shopping. Oh she liked the things she bought, she just hated the act of looking for them. Rogue turned her back for a moment to examine a flier for a concert downtown and Lucretia took it as her chance to bolt. But she only made a few steps when something tugged hard on her hair, yanking her back. She looked behind her and was met by a stern glare from her mother.

"And what do you think yoah doin?"

Lucretia bit her lip, "I...."

"Uh huh. Ah know you don't like to mind me, but just for once, consider someone othah than yoahself. You think Ah don't get in trouble when Ah don't do somethin' yoah Pappa asked me to do? He tol' me t' take you shoppin, and that's what Ah'm gonna do."

Lucretia couldn't help but stare at her mother. Had she just put her in her place? She was completely amazed.

Rogue smirked, "That wasn't so hard, now was it? Y'know it would hurt ya to show me a little more respect a little more often, Ah am yoah Momma."

She just nodded mutely and followed quietly behind her mother. They stepped into the next shop. She found two wide, beetle black eyes staring at her in disbelief. Luckily, Rogue hadn't noticed. She signaled to the mutant behind the counter to drop it for now. She would contact him later.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Lucretia obediently followed her mother in and out of shops, trying on clothes and lugging bags. When her mother shopped, she really went all out. Sure, Gambit had told her to pick up some things for her Acension, but that by no means meant that Rogue couldn't pick up a few extra things for Lucretia and herself. They finally came home, late that evening, both of them completely exhausted, but Lucretia knew that the day wasn't done yet.

She grabbed Nicky after dinner and pulled him aside.

"I ran into Harold today..."

Nicky raised an eyebrow.

"Meetin's t'night."

"Dey certainly move fast."

"Dey prolly knew we were here before de plane finished taxyin' into de gate."

He nodded, "Be ready in a minute."

Mutant Hunter 87 threw the file down on the desk. A middle-aged bespectacled man looked up from his computer.

"Can I help you?"

"Look through that 23," the man known as 87 started, "tell me if you see anything familiar."

The older man sighed, "George, how man times do I have to tell you, my name's..."

"Shhh," 87 cut him off as he glanced at an unconcious mutant being dragged off, "You should know better by now than to use names."

'23' rolled his eyes, "Kids," he muttered as he flipped through the file. His eyes widened as he flipped to the coroner's photos. He held one up to the light. "Looks like this poor bastard was blown up from the inside out."

87 nodded, "That's what I thought as well."

"No leads?"

"Hound couldn't pick up anything and the perp left the place clean as a whistle."

"You sure it was just one?"

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, "Back in my days on the force, before all this 'Mutant Hunter' crap, I caught wiff of a group of thieves and assasins for hire."

"Mafia types?"

'23' shook his head, "Naw man, these guys were somethin' else. Had special powers and no one could ever catch 'em. They got safe houses everywhere, but nobody knows where. They went in, cleaned house, and then they were gone. Got close to one of them once, went by the name 'Gambit'. Apparently his little group had ousted him."

"What happened?"

"Fucker disappeared, hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since. Word has it, he used to work out of Weschester with Xavier's band of freaks."

"You think he might have done this?"

The detective shrugged, "I couldn't tell ya. Never really was sure what his powers were, he was born before the tagging laws came out. But, George, he's gotta be almost 50 by now, if he's still alive. Looking at this report, this thing was probably done by a couple of young punks..."

87 raised an eyebrow, "Does this 'Gambit' have children?"

He shrugged again, "Dunno, like I said, he was never tagged, and since we don't know his real name, I can't give you more than that."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

'23' raised an eyebrow, "There's no guarantee that this is the guy."

"Just tell me what you can."

The meeting place changed everytime, and the meetings themselves were infrequent. They were only held when new information was discovered or a situation changed. This time, they were meeting in a dug out old tomb in one of the city cemetaries. Nicky and Lucretia were the last to arrive. They nodded to everyone to proceed and took their places.

The man who had called the meeting together, the black eyed mutant named Harold, stood and took a deep breath.

"I know many of you were counting on the upcoming liberation, but there's been a delay." Mutters and grumblings came from the gathered mutants. Harold held up a hand, "I am sorry, but they have moved him."

"Again?" someone shouted.

"Yes, again, the only thing I can think of is they have caught on to us."

"How? Is there a leak?"

"Doubtful, more than likely, they noticed a pattern among our operatives."

"Den we just have t' change dem out," Lucretia spoke.

"It will take years to re-establish proceedures and positions!"

She stepped forward, "We don' have a choice. Dey know us, or at least dey suspect us. And besides, our operatives can' neccesarily move everytime he does. Keep dem where dey are for a while and have dem slowly filter out. In de meantime, find out where he's been moved to."

"And who exactly do you expect to replace our people?"

She gave a thin smile, "I have just the man. He'll be here in a few days, he has some business in New York t' take care of firs'."

"And we're just supposed to trust..."

"WHO'S DOWN DERE!"

Everyone froze. Lucretia put a finger to her lips and slowly crept towards the steps. She turned around to motion everyone to leave when someone jerked her out.

"GOT YA!"

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Now how do you like that, I come back and the first thing I do is put in a cliffhanger. Yes, I am evil. Go review.


	12. Unexpected Visitors

This chapter has been rewritten from my previous post. I wasn't happy with the way the story was going, so I did some editing. If you haven't already, please read chapter 11 as it has also been rewritten. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: You know the drill, now bugger off and read.

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Lucretia stiffened at the stranger's contact. It was bare skin against bare skin and her captor's feelings and experiences flowed through her. It was too much. She couldn't comprehend everything she was feeling. How could one person experience so many emotions at once? She was like a deer, frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car.

Luckily, Nicky sensed her distress and came barreling up from the tomb below. "Get your fuckin' hands off her!" he screamed as he shoved into the man. Lucretia flew to one side and her attacker to the other while the mutants from the meeting scattered into the night.

Lucretia lie on the ground, staring at the stars. "You okay?" Nicky whispered. Her eyes slowly shifted onto him and then shifted back to the night sky. Nicky sighed and sat down beside her. He glanced at the man he had all but mauled. He was dressed in what looked like white pajamas and his hair was white. He was sitting up, a hand to his head.

"You got some punch dere, pup."

"An' you got a bad habit o' stickin' y' nose in ot'er peoples business."

The man in white chuckled, "Dis be my cemetery. I'm de ground keeper, and you was trespassin'."

"Riiiiight. It's a cemetery old man, anybody can come here."

He laughed again, "Smart kid." He looked up at Nicky. His eyes were two blood read circles floating in a sea of black. Nicky gasped.

"Cretia! 'Cretia, look at dis! He's…"

She sat up, "I know who he is. He's de Witness." She looked hard at the older man, "Dat was intentional."

He nodded, "Sorry, had t' be done dough."

"No shit, just give me some warnin' next time, k?" She got to her feet and brushed off, "C'mon Nicky, time t' go."

"But…"

"I'll explain later, now let's go."

Nicky scrambled to his feet and followed after her.

The Witness merely stared at them, a tear on his cheek. If only there had been another way…

The rest of their visit to New Orleans went without any problems. Nicky and Lucretia continued their meetings with their contacts and Lucretia's ascension as heiress was flawless. They stayed a few weeks afterwards and then it was back to New York. Kurt greeted them cheerily at the mansion.

"Welcome back! How was New Orleans?"

"Fine," Lucretia answered as she gave him a warm hug.

"Good, and I…" he stopped, "Lucretia, you are wearing gloves. You haven't done that since you were in grade school."

She looked down at her hands, "Oui, I know, but I make Cyclops nervous. I t'ought dis might help."

Kurt gave her a skeptical look, "I think you are trying to make him even more nervous."

She gave a short laugh, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Eit'er way, you'll never know."

He smiled a little, "The Professor wants to see you when you have settled back in."

Lucretia groaned, "Fine." She dragged her suitcases up the stairs and a few minutes later she was outside Xavier's office. She raised her hand to knock.

__

Come in.

She rolled her eyes and turned the knob, "You wanted t' see me."

The Professor smiled, "Yes, please have a seat."

Lucretia flopped into the chair and proceeded to stare at her fingernails.

Xavier realized this was the best he was going to get and began, "Lucretia, as I am sure you know, the school year is about to start…"

She continued to look at her nails.

He let out a small sigh, "The school year is about to start, and I would like you to participate actively with the students."

She straightened up, "Monsieur, I have already completed high school an' I have two undergraduate degrees. I need no more schooling."

"Yes, I realize that. I was actually wondering if you would like to teach."

She broke into hysterical laughter, "Oh dat's a good one, have a madwoman an' a murderer teach de students. Dat'd go over real well wit' de parents."

He smiled a little, "Logan is a teacher here."

"What's y' point?"

"Perhaps you would like to be his assistant in his self defense class?"

"Fine, whatever. Is dat all?"

"No, I would like to encourage you to work more with the Summers children."

"Non, I will not. S'too dangerous fo' dem."

"Lucretia, you must face your fears sometime."

"Den I will face dem on my own. I'll move out t' de boat house if my nightmares bot'er de household."

"That's not the point, Lucretia, and you know it."

She stood up, "Look professor, I don' like you, and you know it. I'll play yo' lil' games an' teach an' whatever, but only because it's at de request o' my parents. Understand?" She moved closer and placed her hands on the desk, "As fo' de boathouse," her voice was icy and her eyes were equally cold, "it was good enough fo' my Pappa, it'll suit me just fine." The implications of her statement were obvious. Xavier merely smiled and dismissed her. She spun on her heel and marched out of the office and back upstairs.

Lucretia scrubbed hard at the floor in her bedroom. How long had it been since anyone had lived here? A decade? Two? She sighed and put her back into it. A knock came at the door. She peered over her shoulder.

"Dere's a doorbell you know."

"I know, but I sensed you were busy, I didn't want to disturb you."

"You disturbin' me now Mrs. Summers," she gave her a sly grin.

Jean smiled back, "I just came to talk. And, please, call me Jean."

Lucretia nodded her head, standing and threw the sponge into its bucket. For some reason, Jean didn't get on her nerves as much as Scott did. "You want t' talk to me about my little spat wit' de Professor, non?"

She smiled weakly, "Yes, and no. I know things have been difficult for you and there is still some tension against your father, but please, we only want to help."

The young Cajun raised an eyebrow, "Y' husband wants me dead."

The older woman's shoulders slumped, "He's just scared is all. He doesn't know you and you did threaten the Professor."

Lucretia let out a short laugh, "S'good fo' 'em, keep 'em on his toes."

"Lucretia, please."

She stopped, "I know. I'll do what I can, but if he can' keep de peace, don' spect me to."

"Fair enough."

"Now what else did you come to tell me?"

Jean raised an eyebrow, "I thought I was the telepath here?"

Lucretia gave that same sly grin, "You learn t' pick up t'ings when you live wit a t'ief and an ex-con."

"Too true, I came here to tell you that you have a visitor."

"A visitor…" suddenly her face lit up and she tore past Jean and down the stairs. Jean followed hurriedly.

A young man in a gray suit with dark brown hair sat on the couch, legs crossed, tapping his fingers on his knee.

"David!" Lucretia exclaimed.

The young man turned around, "Cretia, darling!" His accent was heavy with a Cockney slur.

She gave him a quick hug and light kiss on the cheek. For a moment, it seemed to Jean as if he shimmered slightly. "You said you wouldn' be back fo' a few days, what happened?"

"Took care of ev'rythin' back home faster than I thought I would."

"Dat's wonderful. Jean, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine from England, David Gaines."

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Gaines. Will you be staying for dinner?"

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I know, I know, bad ending for this chapter, but I wanted to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I'll be able to start putting these out faster. Please let me know what you think.


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